A Cyclone of Geniuses - The Story of Scorpion
by OlicityLove
Summary: When familiar faces show up unannounced, how does Scorpion react? Relationships are tested, lines are crossed, and limits are pushed... [Waige] [A bit of Quintis]
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Scorpion or any of its affiliates**

**A/N: So this is my first Scorpion story! I hope you all enjoy and feel free to send me your feedback! Constructive criticism is always appreciated!**

"Happy New Year's Eve Day!" Paige exclaimed gleefully as Ralph entered the kitchen.

New Year's Eve was Paige's favourite time of the year. She saw it as a fresh start and it gave her the opportunity to make new goals. Usually, her and Ralph would watch the ball drop on TV before heading to bed. The moment the ball dropped, Paige would close her eyes and make a wish.

This year however, Paige couldn't think of anything else she needed, or wanted for that matter. She had a good job with Scorpion and had made friends. Her and her son had connected more than she ever imagined possible and Ralph was growing close to Walter. Paige couldn't help but wonder whether Drew's recent reappearance in their lives would strain their relationship with the genius. She hoped it wouldn't, as she had too grown fond of Walter.

Past attempts at getting Ralph excited about New Years had failed, but she was confident that this year would be different.

Everything about the year so far had been different. Ever since the guy setting up the wireless Internet where she used to waitress had come into their lives, Paige knew that everything was changing. For the first time in her son's life, she was seeing him connect and interact with not only the Scorpion team, but also with her.

"15 hours and 28 minutes." Ralph stated matter-of-factly as he sat down at the kitchen table.

Paige quickly retrieved her phone and opened the program Walter had installed. "15 hours, 28 minutes and 19 seconds." She stated, smiling when she saw her son's reaction.

"18 seconds now." He said with a grin plastered on his face.

"That's right! Now eat your cereal we have to leave in ten minutes." She stated as she set a bowl of cereal down in front of Ralph.

* * *

"Hello! We're here!" Paige yelled as her and Ralph entered the Scorpion base.

"Good Morning!" Sylvester said as he stopped his calculation, turned away from his chalk board and nodded at the pair. Paige smiled at the way he greeted them. He smiled back then immediately returned to his calculations.

"Hi." Happy absentmindedly replied as she intently worked on some sort of metal rod.

"Don't mind her," Toby said with humour as he entered the room wearing the hat Happy had gotten him for Christmas, "she's busy. And how are you Ralph?"

Ralph looked up at Toby with a smile. "Good."

"Do you want to see something really cool?" He asked the ten year old. Ralph nodded and the two headed towards the garage as Paige stood in the middle of the room.

"Where are Walter and Cabe?"

Before anyone had a chance to respond, Walter began to descend the stairs.

"Right here." Once he got to the bottom of the stairwell, "and Cabe is spending New Years at his old house, he goes there every year."

"Where's Ralph?" He asked as he looked around.

"Toby took him to look at something, I'll go see what there up to." As the words left her lips, the present members of the team focused their attention on her.

"No." Happy said with zero wavering in her tone.

"That's not a good idea." Sylvester pleaded with her. Paige noticed the twitch in his hand, he was clearly nervous about something.

"What they're trying to say," Walter glared at the two team members before looking back to Paige, "is that today is you're favourite time of the year and we want you to enjoy yourself."

"Okay?" Paige questioned, as Walter motioned for her to sit down. "Why the sudden expression of your EQ?" She asked with a giggle.

"There is a higher likelihood that you will enjoy yourself if you are sitting. Taking into account the fact that you worked on your feet all day waitressing before we met, and you spend most of your time walking around with us," Walter stopped speaking when he heard footsteps approaching. Toby walked in with Ralph and decided to finish Walter's thought.

"You subconsciously associate being on your feet with work. Today is not a day for work, so it will be much more efficient for you to achieve maximum relaxation sitting down."

"Well thank you." Paige said as she relaxed deeply into the chair.

Walter began to speak once again.

"Not to mention you're a single mother so you should get to sit down and relax once in a while." Walter looked at Paige then turned to face Toby.

Paige noticed them having a silent conversation but couldn't focus on it as she tried to convince herself that Walter's most recent words were merely factual, rather than him making a stab at Drew. She got nervous when she started to see a softer side to Walter; it gave her hope. Paige shook the thought from her head… she couldn't get hurt again.

"Mom," Ralph called as he walked towards his mother, "can we go to the Tournament of Roses Parade today?"

Paige was very confused. Of course she wanted to take Ralph to the parade, but he had denied wanting to go for years.

"Sure honey. Why the sudden interest in parades?"

"I want to calculate the percent error in the band members formation. At least one will be out of position, giving me a good chance of variability in the data."

Paige nodded her head, feeling suspicious but overly pleased that she was going to the parade with her son.

"Are you guys ready?" Paige asked as she looked at the rest of Team Scorpion.

"I meant just us." Ralph said as he took her hand.

At this point, Paige knew something was up. She looked around and saw a nervous Sylvester, Happy keeping busy to prevent herself from looking up and Walter. His smile was steady and that caused her to question her son's motive for wanting to go to the parade.

"Have fun." Walter smiled and Paige stared at him for several moments.

"Come on, we don't want to be late." Ralph said as he led his mom to the car.

* * *

"How was the parade?" Sylvester asked as Ralph and Paige walked in.

"Good." Paige replied, "Ralph, go show Sylvester the numbers you calculated."

"Okay." Ralph said with a huge smile.

"What have you guys been up to today?"

"Nothing really," Happy said as she walked towards Paige, "just the usual."

Paige nodded, knowing how they could get wrapped up in their work.

* * *

It was nearing midnight and Paige was getting very excited. Ralph was yawning, but he insisted on staying up.

"It's time." Walter said as he nodded at Ralph, Toby, Sylvester and Happy.

"No, we still have 15 minutes!" Paige called out as she walked towards the group of people. As she got closer, she sensed that something was off; they were all looking at her strangely.

"Come." Walter said as he put out a hand for Paige. She looked at his hand and took it, without thinking about what it could mean. He guided her to the seating area and insisted she sit down.

"Thank you." She said.

"Your welcome." Walter was half way turned around when he felt his hand being tugged on by Paige. He hadn't realized she was still holding his hand.

"Thank you for everything. With Ralph and you helping out with him and Drew. It means a lot."

He nodded as they gazed into each other's eyes for a couple seconds longer than usual.

Breaking the silence was the sound of a heavy rolling object.

"What is that?" She asked with laughter at the sheer size of the object. It was very tall and looked very heavy.

"It's for you mom." Ralph walked over to her and sat on her lap.

"We've worked all day on this." Toby stated.

Paige looked at her son and realized that was why he was so insistent on going to the parade… to keep her away from their project.

Happy counted to three then pulled off the white sheet that was hiding the object.

Paige drew a quick breath as she realized what she was looking at.

In front of her was a miniature version of the ball that her and Ralph watch on TV every New Years Eve. As she walked closer, she noticed that the ball was plastered with photos of not only her and Ralph, but also them with the geniuses. She covered her mouth as she took in the beauty of the object; the detail was incredible.

"You didn't have-" She felt a tear fall down her cheek as she quickly wiped it away.

"We wanted to." Walter said as he plugged in the massive object.

Once it was plugged into the wall, the entire object lit up.

"It's going to drop." Ralph said .

"This is incredible." Paige said towards the team. They smiled at her and expressed their pride over their creation.

"Okay, one minute to go!" Sylvester stated as he stared at his watch.

Paige was fixated on the ball that gradually moved down. It was perfectly synced with the time as it reached the bottom.

"3….2..."

Paige closed her eyes, as she did every year at this time. Shortly after, she opened them, realizing that she didn't have anything to wish for… she has everything.

"…1… Happy New Year!"

As the ball hit the bottom, confetti shot into the air. She looked around to see Happy and Toby nudging each other and Sylvester doing some sort of calculation about the trajectory of the confetti with Ralph. Her eyes then settled on Walter. He was walking towards her as her heart raced.

Paige could feel herself blushing as the heat approached her face. She didn't know why, but she was anxious and excited about what was about to happen.

Before Walter made it to her, the attention of all the room's occupants were drawn to the front door as it opened.

Paige was surprised, but not as surprised as Walter was. Drew was there.

He waved at his son, then smiled as Paige approached him. She could feel Walter's eyes piercing into her back.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"The tryout ended early so I caught the soonest flight."

There was a short awkward silence between the two. She momentarily glanced back and smiled at Walter who grinned back at her.

"I have great news." Drew stated with enthusiasm. Paige didn't reply, she only nodded.

"The tryout ended early because they picked me to join the minor league team!"

Paige's heart almost sunk right then and there; not for herself but for her son. She had no idea how Ralph would react to his dad leaving _again_.

"And I want you and Ralph to move to Portland with me."

Paige drew in a deep breath. She was not expecting this.

**A/N 2: I am not sure whether this should be a one-shot or whether I should continue it! Let me know your thoughts!**

**Thanks for Reading/Reviewing!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own Scorpion or any of its affiliates**

**A/N: Thank you for the kind words! I sincerely appreciate everyone who has taken the time to read this story, to share their thoughts and to follow/favourite this!**

"Paige? Did you hear what I said?" Drew placed his hand on her elbow. "I know it's a shock, but I think-"

"Don't" Paige cut him off before he had a chance to finish speaking.

"Paige? This is a good thing." Drew's eyes were pleading for her to understand that he was finally ready.

"Don't do this." It was clear her eyes were filling with tears, but Drew could not understand why she was upset.

"Tears of joy?" Drew asked. "Trust me. It'll be different this time. I'm ready."

"Drew!" At this point, Paige was letting several tears caress her cheeks as they fell down her face. "You're ready? Are you kidding me?"

Drew did not understand what was going on, he couldn't understand why Paige wasn't thrilled.

He placed his other hand on her elbow but she pulled away. Before he had a chance to say anything, Walter was by Paige's side.

"What is going on here?" His voice was stern. After he saw Paige's distressed body movements, he knew something was not right.

"It's none of your concern Walter." Drew spat out.

"None of my concern?" Walter was getting frustrated and everyone in the room could tell. "Last time I checked, I've spent more time with your son than you have."

Drew's face became red, as he was ready to become defensive.

On cue Sylvester guided Ralph, who appeared to be at his EQ capacity with the situation, upstairs so he could sleep in Walter's room.

Happy and Toby remained in the background just out of earshot, prepared to jump in if necessary.

"How dare you say that about _my_ son."

"DNA doesn't make you a father." Walter stated with clear dictation. Scientifically, yes it did. But there was this feeling in the pit of Walter's stomach that had him believing fatherhood was more than just genetics.

"Stop it, please." Paige's small voice pierced through their conversation as both men looked at the teary eyed woman. "Walter, can you give us a minute?"

"Are you sure?" He asked, placing his hand where Drew's so recently was. The difference was that Paige leaned into his touch.

She nodded so Walter gave Drew one last glare before moving to stand beside Toby and Happy.

"Why are you acting like this?" Drew asked, "This is a good thing."

"A good thing? You were gone for seven years Drew. Our child has had seven years of memories without a dad! Do you realize how difficult that is? He has enough struggles in his life, and you never being around just added to it."

"Paige, I wasn't ready." He tilted his head away in shame before looking back into her eyes. "But I am now."

"You think I was ready? I was so young and then you just left. Night after night I told him you would come home until we both stopped believing it. I raised _our_ child on my own." Paige hadn't realized it or thought about it in several years, but Drew had burnt her and the scar never went away.

Drew couldn't think of anything to say, so he just kept staring at her.

"You don't just get to call me up and waltz back into our lives. Not if you're going to repeat history."

"But I'm not repeating history." A glimmer of hope appeared in his eyes once more, "I want you both to come with me. We can be a family."

_I have a family here, _Paige thought to herself.

"Ralph and I have a life here, you can't just expect us to pick up and follow you on a whim."

"Paige, this is serious. This is my career, If you just moved-"

"Because you're life and career are always more important than mine?" She swiped another tear from her cheek.

"What?" He questioned.

"When you claimed it would be better for Ralph and I to settle down in L.A. and you left, you _wanted_ to leave. You _wanted_ the freedom of the road. You didn't want to be tied down to responsibility. That explains the blonde in Tahoe, right? You're life and your career have always come first to mine."

"Well yeah, you were a waitress."

Paige let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

"Sorry," Drew continued, "But you couldn't expect me to give up my baseball career for that."

"And now?"

"Now what?"

"I'm not some useless waitress anymore-"

"Paige, that's not what I meant."

Paige ignored him as she continued to speak. Walter was standing with his legs slightly separated and his arms folded across his chest. This entire situation was making him very uncomfortable. More so, he couldn't stand seeing Paige so upset. Toby's eyebrows were raised and Happy sat with a stiff face while she observed the former couple.

"These people," She said motioning to the group behind her, "make a real difference and I help them. Equally important, they have helped Ralph, which you haven't for the past seven years."

"Is this about Walter?" Drew questioned her as his eyes continually made contact with Walter who was positioned in a defensive stance behind her.

"What?"

"He may be like our son, but I am his father and nothing can change that Paige. As much as you wish that someone else were, I am. And I am not giving up a relationship with my son because you want to run around pretending to be a part of this," He motioned to the room and people around him.

The words hit her like a brick. No air could enter her lungs and no words could pass her lips.

Drew put his hand to his forehead and took several deep breaths. "Look Paige, I'm sorry."

Without saying a word, Paige turned away from him and headed upstairs to where Ralph was. She hid her face as she tilted her head towards the wall, but Walter could tell she was crying.

As she walked up the stairs, Drew turned to follow her, but his arm was soon grabbed by Walter's hand.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

**Thanks for reading and reviewing!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I have no words other than "Thank you!" for all the support I have been receiving for this story! I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint! Enjoy!**

Paige walked into Walter's room where Ralph was sleeping. On the way in she walked passed Sylvester, who was heading back downstairs, but she couldn't force herself to look up. Instead she just kept her head down as her tears continued to flow. She walked in to see a peacefully sleeping Ralph.

She sat on the side of the bed and began rubbing soothing circles on her son's back as he slept. She smiled minutely at the memory of when Walter first came to their house. She recalled what he had said about pausing and rewinding his dreams and couldn't help but wonder if that's what Ralph was doing right now.

The smile left her face as quickly as it came. She replayed Drew's words in her head over and over again until she couldn't see through the tears that were filling her eyes.

Quick breaths began to escape her lips, as though her lungs had been deprived of oxygen for hours.

Paige didn't like to show weakness, it made her feel small. After Drew had left she had put on a tough face for her and Ralph. She needed to be strong because she was all that Ralph had. In turn, he was all that she had too.

Startling her, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

_Please don't be Drew._

Her eyes quickly met Walter's as she let out several more quick breaths.

"Take a deep breath." Walter instructed.

Paige nodded, but continued to inhale rapidly.

"Paige." Walter sat down on the bed beside her and took her hands into his. "Focus on my breathing okay?"

Walter took slow, deep breathes and Paige followed in his breathing pattern. After a minute or so, Paige was able to breathe normally again.

"Thank you." She said in a soft voice, still trembling from the harsh words she received from Drew only moments ago.

"Happy to help," He said with eyes capturing an emotion that closely resembled sympathy, "What did he say to you?"

Paige's eyes darted away from his, "Nothing."

"It wasn't nothing," He said, squeezing her hand, "I saw the way his stance became aggressive and yours defensive. What did he say?"

"Walter. Please." Paige was pleading with him to leave the topic alone.

She couldn't imagine how she would feel if Walter began to see her as Drew did, so she decided against telling him what was said.

Walter was not one to give up a conversation half way through, especially if his objective hadn't been met. But this time he made an exception.

"He's not still down there is he?" She asked.

"No. I told him he should leave."

"And he just left without a fight?" Paige was surprised; Drew wasn't one to leave without getting what he wants.

"Not exactly." Walter said as he looked down at his hands.

Paige's eyes followed his. She saw that his knuckles were bruised and swollen.

"Oh my –"

"It's nothing." He said with a half smile.

"Walter! You hit him?"

"It's not like he didn't deserve it." He stated, and then looked up to see a speechless Paige. He couldn't tell whether or not she was mad, "Are you upset?"

"No." She said as a grin formed on her face, "Quite the opposite actually."

* * *

_As she walked up the stairs, Drew turned to follow her, but his arm was soon grabbed by Walter's hand._

_"I wouldn't do that if I were you." _

_"Well it's a good think you're not me then." Drew said as he yanked his arm out of Walter's grip._

_"Yes it is, because you're an ass." He stated with a smile, satisfied with his impromptu comeback. _

_"Who the hell do you think you are?" Drew's face scrunched up as his eyes sent darts into Walter._

_"I'm a better person than you and that's an undeniable fact."_

_"Yeah, I don't think so." _

_"I do." Walter said with no trace of a tremble in his voice. "You're the kind of man who leaves his family alone to fend for themselves while you run off with random blondes." _

_Walter remembered the small amount of information Paige had absentmindedly given him the day they met at the diner. He knew he had hit a spot when he noticed Drew's shocked expression. _

_It was clear he didn't think Paige would have told him. Walter mentally congratulated himself then continued speaking. _

_"After having interacted with Ralph for less than a minute, I knew he was special, he is important and the fact you could just leave him proves my point. You didn't care about him or Paige when you left, and they deserve so much more than that. They deserve so much more than you."_

_As the words left Walter's mouth, he felt a strange feeling in his gut. He could tell that adrenaline was pumping wildly through his veins. _

_Simultaneously, Drew had hit his breaking point._

_"How do you suppose that, because you're sleeping with my ex? Is that how she got this job in the first place? I mean I don't blame you, she can be enticing." Drew said the last word with emphasis as he lifted the corner of his mouth. He was mocking her and trying to rile up Walter._

_It was working. _

_Walter could feel his hands beginning to shake. The way Drew spoke about Paige invoked a foreign feeling within him. He felt an urge to form his hand into a fist and thrust it towards Drew. _

_Before either of them could process what was happening, Walter's fist was moving with an increasing velocity towards Drew. The entirety of his face felt the blow as he stumbled back a bit._

_Walter felt the sudden stinging in his hand as he heard Toby and Happy cheering him on in the background. He had almost forgotten that they were behind him. He looked up towards the stairwell and saw Sylvester looking at him with wide eyes. The whole team was equally shocked and impressed. _

_Walter let out a miniscule laugh as he realized that jolting his fist towards Drew caused the knot in his stomach to disappear… Walter felt good. _

_"Hey there," Toby directed his words towards Drew as he saw him preparing to hit Walter in return. "That's not a good idea."_

_Drew smirked at Toby's comment, but revaluated hitting Walter when he saw the proud smile on his face. Drew got the feeling that Walter would be more than happy to hit him again. _

_"It's time you leave." Walter stated with conviction. Moments later, Drew stormed out._

* * *

"I can't believe you hit him."

"I can." Walter looked up at Paige with a straight face, "It felt nice."

"_This_ felt nice?" She asked with a smile while pointing to his bruised knuckles.

"Yes. I can't explain it but once I hit him, I felt much better. The uncomfortable feeling inside me completely vanished."

Paige just giggled as she thought about what Walter had said. He unknowingly expressed more EQ than she had ever seen.

"Mom?" Ralph's eyes opened slowly as he was awaken by the pair's talking.

"Ralph, I'm sorry we woke you." She gave her son an apologetic look before turning to face Walter.

"I'm going to put some ice on my hand." Walter whispered to Paige. Then, he looked at Ralph, "Go back to sleep bud."

As Walter left his room, Paige turned her attention back to her son.

"Mom, is he leaving us again?"

Paige loved her son more than anything, but she wished in moments like these that he wasn't so intuitive.

"I-" She stopped speaking. She wasn't going to lie to him.

"I don't want him to leave." He said before Paige could continue.

"We'll talk about this later. Your genius brain needs sleep." She said as she kissed his forehead.

Ralph closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep.

Paige continued looking at her son for a while longer. She thought about what he had said.

_Am I being selfish for wanting to stay with Scorpion when Ralph clearly wanted to have his father in his life?_

Paige had no idea what she was going to do.

**Thanks again for Reading/Reviewing! **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who has continued to support this story and I'd love to hear your thoughts!**

Paige opened the door to the diner and reminisced about when she used to waitress there. Everything in her life had changed so much in the past few months. She smiled when she saw an empty seat. It was stool Ralph was sitting in the first time he and Walter talked. _So much had changed for Ralph too_, Paige thought to herself.

Her eyes searched until she saw Drew sitting in a booth by the large wall of windows. She made her way over to him.

_Walter hit you hard. _She thought to herself as she noticed the right side of his face still showed signs of purple and blue.

It had been a couple days since they had spoken. Paige needed time to think about what her next step would be.

"Where's Ralph?" Drew asked as he looked around. He had clearly assumed that the three of them would be having lunch.

"The two of need to talk."

"Where is he?" Drew asked, still focused on the absence of his son.

"He's with Toby, Happy, Sylvester and-" Not allowing her to finish, he cut in.

"He's with Walter?"

"Yes?" Paige replied, confused with the anger in his voice, "And the others."

"Great." He stated plainly, "Just great."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Paige questioned defensively. "Walter is the reason that you have been able to interact better with Ralph since you got back. Since when was his presence an issue."

"Walter is _always_ around our son, Paige. We don't want him getting to close to Ralph, especially if they aren't going to be around each other for much longer. Speaking of, have you thought anymore about what I asked you?"

"I have and I was-"

"Good. I know that things were said on New Years, but I want to assure you that the offer is still open." He said smugly as he took a drink of water.

"Drew. Whether or not the door is open isn't the concern here."

He moved the cup away from his lips and placed it on the table with a near silent grunt.

"I know that you want to be a part of Ralph's life." She looked him in the eyes, "But Ralph's life is here in L.A."

Drew looked on edge, but at least he was listening to what she had to say.

"So I was thinking that instead of us leaving, you could stay here."

Drew didn't respond; he just looked frustrated and annoyed.

"What happened to be me 'being a good mother and whatever I decide is the right move'?"

"I've been so patient with you." He proceeded, "but you need to take a look at reality and realize what is truly the best for our son."

"I think that Scorpion is the best thing for our son."

"Paige, you don't listen." His head shook slightly from side to side. "This was always your problem," He mumbled under his breath.

"I do listen-"

"No, you don't. I want you to understand that," He placed his hand around hers, making Paige feel rather uncomfortable. "Baseball is a big thing for me, and our family. I have tried very hard to be patient with you… and you're strange friends. But enough is enough. It's time you open your eyes and allow us all to be a family again. Don't you want Ralph to have a family?"

Paige's eyes darted away from his.

"Yes, but-"

"Good then, it's settled." He took his hands off of hers and smiled as he leaned back into his seat, "You, Ralph and I are moving to Portland."

"No, we're not actually." Paige stated. "Ralph and I have a family here." She smiled as thoughts of the Scorpion team filled her mind.

"I am yours and Ralph's family." He cracked a smile and ran a hand through his hair. The way his head tilted to one side made Paige shift in her seat.

She never remembered him acting like this, but then again, maybe she never realized it was wrong.

"And if you believe that, then you will sacrifice baseball for your family." Paige stated as she stood up from the booth.

Before she had a chance to begin walking, she felt a tight grip on her lower arm. She spun around to see Drew mere feet away from her.

"Let me go." She asked as politely as her lips would allow.

"Sit back down Paige." He had a million dollar smile plastered on his face. It was a bit frightening how his face could look so innocent while his voice was as dark as it was. "We are not done talking here."

She could feel his grip tightening.

"I think we are. You either stay here, or you go to Portland alone. It's you're choice." She turned away from him and yanked her arm out of his grip.

As she walked away from him, Paige could feel her hands shaking ever so slightly as her heart raced.

* * *

"Why is Paige not back yet?" Walter asked himself as he glanced at his watch for the tenth time that minute.

"Relax," Happy said as she stood beside Ralph and Walter, "She'll be back soon."

"She's been gone for 31 minutes and 17 seconds Walter," Sylvester stated as he began to explain his calculations. "It takes 9 minutes and 3 seconds to get to the Diner on a day with average traffic, so times that by two to get the total distance travelled here and back, that's 18 minutes and 6 seconds, giving her only 13 minutes and 11 seconds to talk to Drew."

"And considering what happened on New Years," Toby cut in, "They probably need a lot more time to talk."

As Toby finished his sentence, the team's attention was pulled to the front door.

"I'm back." Paige exclaimed, less enthusiastically than usual.

"How was lunch?" Walter asked, even though he knew she didn't eat. He calculated the average time it takes to order, receive and eat a meal and came to the conclusion that no food was eaten by Paige.

"Good." She absentmindedly answered.

Walter inferred that because she obviously lied about eating lunch, that she didn't want to talk about whatever happened with Drew.

"How was you're afternoon Ralph? Did you have fun?" Once Paige's eyes saw Ralph, they lit up.

"Yeah." He replied with a grin.

Although Walter could never understand the concept of the maternal bond on a level beyond science, he knew it was real when he saw Paige with Ralph.

Sylvester went back to organizing his desk and Happy disappeared with Ralph to the garage.

Paige grabbed a ponytail from her purse and began pulling her hair back. Toby must have seen something because as her arms were in the air, he nervously spoke.

"Um, Paige?"

"Yeah?" She asked, confused why his tone was suddenly serious.

Walter's face stiffened as he set his eyes on whatever Toby was looking at.

"What?" She asked hastily, not wanting to be left in the dark on whatever they were panicking about. "What is it?"

"You're arm." Toby said simultaneously as Walter rapidly walked over to her.

Before she could look down, Walter already had his hands softly resting on her arm.

Walter doesn't like to partake in physical interactions with others, but he wanted to examine Paige's arm. He didn't understand why he was taking note of how soft her skin was when he was supposed to be examining the dark mark on her skin.

Paige noticed a bruise on her lower arm, that resembled the shape if a man's hand.

"Oh." She quickly inhaled, not realizing that Drew had left a mark on her arm.

Walter did not speak; he just stared at the bruise. Scenarios of what could have happened ran through his brain and he plotted what he would do if he ever saw Drew again.

"Guys, don't worry about it." She said as she too stared at the bruise.

"Don't worry about it?" Toby questioned with emphasis on the entire statement. It was clear they had already started worrying.

"Has he always been aggressive?" Walter asked in an interrogatory manner.

"No!" Paige replied. When they both stared at her with disbelief in their eyes, she continued to speak. "You think I would let my son around an abusive person?" Her voice was strong, yet hurt by their accusation.

Walter knew that Paige would never expose Ralph to aggression intentionally.

"Drew is not a violent person. He just has a temper. This is the first time anything like this has ever happened." She looked up from her bruise to see Walter. His face was plastered with concern. "I promise."

"She doesn't know does she?" Toby interjected.

"Know what?" Paige asked immediately.

Toby and Walter had a silent conversation between themselves. Paige knew they were keeping something from her and it made her nervous to think they knew something about Drew that was worth keeping to themselves.

"Know what?" Paige asked again, this time with a little less patience.

**Thanks again for reading/reviewing!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I sincerely want to thank everyone who has read/favourited/followed this. It is truly incredible to see how wonderful the Scorpion fan base is! Enjoy the chapter!**

"Walter! Toby!" Paige exclaimed with an exasperated tone, "What are you talking about?"

Toby looked at Walter, who was staring blankly at Paige. It was obvious that he was contemplating the pros and cons of telling her what they knew. Without giving Walter the opportunity to decide, Toby began to speak.

"Before we met Drew, we looked into his background."

"Okay?" Paige asked with confusion as to the direction of the conversation.

"Before Drew met you, he was arrested for battery."

"What?" Paige asked as she put her hand up to cover her mouth, "No, that's not possible."

"It is." Walter stated, coming out of his trance-like state.

"No, I… That doesn't even make sense, are you sure?" She asked, pleading with them for it to be a misunderstanding.

"Yes." Toby interjected, "He pleaded guilty to the charge."

"Oh my-" Before she could finish speaking, her eyes began to swell with tears. Paige shook her head lightly from side to side several times.

"I…I left Ralph alone with him!" Falling tears greeted Paige's cheeks as she realized that Ralph could have been hurt.

"Mom?" The attention of the room turned to the ten-year-old boy who was holding Happy's hand. The sudden silence caused Sylvester to look towards them and make his way over to join the team.

"Ralph, sweetie," Ralph walked over to his mom and she bent down to look him in the eyes. "I have a question for you and I don't want you to worry. I just want you to answer honestly, okay?"

"Okay."

"Has dad," She shook her head, "Drew ever hurt… has he ever been aggressive with you?"

Paige's eyes were filled with tears as she spoke the words she never imagined saying to her son.

Happy and Sylvester looked towards Toby for an explanation. As a response to their curiosity, Toby pointed to his lower arm then nodded towards Paige. As Sylvester spotted the bruise, he began pacing back and forth. Happy on the other hand, remained stiff as her face formed into an anger filled expression.

"No, I mean when he gets mad or frustrated with me, he sometimes holds my hand a bit tight. But it doesn't really hurt."

No words could escape Paige's mouth as she looked at her son with wide eyes.

"Ralph, can you come with me? I want to show you an algorithm." Sylvester jumped in, wanting to get himself and Ralph away from whatever was going to happen next.

Ralph looked at Sylvester then back to his mom.

"It's okay honey, go on." Paige stifled out as she ran a hand through her son's hair.

As soon as Ralph and Sylvester were out of earshot, the silence in the room was broken.

"Do you have the file?" Paige asked to no one in particular, "I need to see the charge."

"On it." Toby stated as he hastily walked over to his desk and pulled out a yellow tinted file.

As he handed it to Paige and she began reading, he, Happy, and Walter could all tell that she was completely shocked by the arrest.

"Paige," Walter took a step towards her, "This isn't your fault. You had no idea."

"I should have known." Paige cursed herself, "It's my job as his mother to know-"

Walter cut her off before she had a chance to further upset herself.

"You can't change the past, but you can change the present."

Paige looked up into Walter's eyes and knew what he was referring to.

"I know," Walter stopped and referenced the rest of the team, "We all know how much you want Ralph to have his father back in his life. I understand that. But you need to figure out if that is what's best for him… and for you."

Paige just nodded at him; she didn't know what else to do.

After several minutes of thinking to herself, Paige grabbed her phone from her purse and began dialling.

"Drew?" She asked, "Are you still at the diner?"

After several moments of silence, she continued speaking.

"Good, stay there. I'll be there as soon as I can."

She hung up the phone and headed for the door. Before she made it, she heard multiple footsteps trailing her.

"What are you doing?" She asked as she turned around.

"You don't really think we're letting you go alone?" Happy asked.

"Because we're not… going to let you go alone that is." Toby cut in.

"We will come with you and Sylvester will watch Ralph." Walter looked at Paige, his eyes showing no signs of backing down.

"Okay. Since I know better than to ask you to stay, lets go." Paige stated as Walter, Happy and Toby followed her out the door.

* * *

She walked into the diner and motioned for the others to sit a few booths down. As she walked towards Drew, a smile overcame his facial features.

"I knew you would change your mind." He stated with pride as she approached him.

"You need to leave."

"But you just got here?" He asked with confusion.

"Not just this diner Drew, you need to leave L.A."

"I'm not leaving without you and Ralph." He stated with frustration growing on his features.

"Yes, you are." She stated, standing a couple of feet away from him, "You are leaving and you are _never_ coming near me or _my_ son again."

"Who do you think you-"

Before he could finish, Paige retrieved the yellowish folder from her purse and tossed it on the table.

He opened the front of the folder and saw his arrest report. He looked angry, not only that his past was being dug up, but also that Paige had found out.

"Do not come near me or Ralph again."

As Drew stood up from his seat, his eyes were drawn towards three people making their towards Paige.

Walter was first, followed by Happy who was housing a pissed off expression and Toby, who was proudly walking behind them.

"You have 24 hours." Paige exclaimed with a stiff and determined voice as she turned around and walked out of the diner. The others followed her out after giving Drew a series of threatening glares.

They made their way back to Scorpion in silence. Toby and Happy were nudging each other in the back seat as Walter drove home; Paige was too worked up to drive. Walter kept looking back and forth from the road to Paige, wondering what she was thinking.

Paige stared out the window for the entire drive back. She couldn't help but wonder what she was going to tell her son.

**A/N: So there will be no update tomorrow (as it is Christmas), but I will be back to updating as soon as possible. I hope you all liked this chapter and have a great and safe Holiday!**

**Thank you for Reading/Reviewing!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait! I hope this update makes up for it!**

"Ralph?" Paige called as she, Toby, Happy and Walter entered the Scorpion base. As she was about to call again, she spotted Sylvester and her son by the chalkboard.

Without speaking, she went up to her son and ran her hands through his hair. She looked down and smiled at his innocent facial features. Paige didn't know how she was going to tell him that Drew was leaving. She wondered if he would understand or if he would hold it against her. Either way, Paige knew she made the right choice; Drew was dangerous and she wouldn't let that around her son.

"What did you and Sylvester do while we were gone?" She asked.

"We worked on Sylvester's algorithm. We were able to shorten it for time stamps. It was pretty cool."

"It sounds like it!" Paige replied, attempting to sound enthusiastic even though her mind was somewhere else.

"Hey, can I talk to your mom for a minute?" Walter walked up beside Paige and Ralph, "I think Toby and Happy would like to see that algorithm."

"Okay." On cue, Ralph ran over to Happy and Toby to show them. Sylvester followed after Walter gave him a nod, indicating he would like privacy.

"How are you going to tell him?" Walter wasted no time as he jumped straight to the point.

"I don't know," Paige answered honestly, "I don't want to wait to long though, Drew was supposed to come over tonight and Ralph will figure it out when he doesn't show up."

Walter nodded, unsure of what the appropriate response was.

"Can you come over?" She didn't think, but before she knew it the words had escaped her lips.

Walter's eye's were wide, a bit shocked at her question.

"It might help if you're there when I tell him. You'll understand how he's feeling and that will help me explain it to him in a way he understands." She waited for him to respond, but when he didn't she continued, "Please, it would mean a lot."

"Absolutely." Walter intended to say 'sure' but ended up leaning his head inward slightly and reassuring Paige that he would be there. He could tell by Paige's deep sigh of relief that he had said the right thing.

* * *

Ralph was sitting on the couch beside Paige, as Walter leaned on the wall observing the pair. She had told Ralph that Walter was coming over to play videogames, which was true. But after 30 minutes of friendly competition on the PlayStation, Paige decided it was time to tell him. After several failed attempts by Paige to start the conversation, Walter cut in.

"This is about your dad." Walter said sincerely as Paige nodded and mouthed 'thank you' towards him.

"What about him?" The innocence and curiosity in Ralph's voice caused Paige's heart to break.

"I know how much you've liked having your dad back." She said as she ruffled a hand through his hair.

Ralph kept staring at his mom, not replying.

"And he cares about you." She stopped to swallow the lump that was rising in her throat, "He got the opportunity to join a baseball team in Portland-"

She stopped speaking as she saw her son go rigid. Paige couldn't stand the thought of her son thinking that his dad was choosing to leave them again so she decided to tell him more than she originally planned.

"He asked us to go with him."

Just as Paige was going to continue speaking, she saw her son's eyes widen and shoot towards Walter.

"Walter, are you going to Portland?" He asked.

"No." Walter stated firmly. When he noticed the minuscule amount of fear in Ralph's eyes, Walter realized what the boy was thinking. He quickly walked over to the couch and sat on the coffee table directly across from Ralph. "I'm not going, and neither are you or your mom."

Paige covered her mouth, realizing that her son was worried about leaving Walter and the rest of the team. She smiled lightly, knowing she made the right choice to stay.

"I told your dad that we're not going with him, but that he should still go."

When she noticed Ralph's confused expression, Paige looked at Walter and he interjected.

"What your mom is trying to say is that she evaluated all the variables and came to the conclusion that your dad needed to leave. I know she made the right choice." Walter and Ralph's eyes were locked; it was as if they were having a silent conversation.

Ralph looked to his mom and nodded.

Paige was surprised that Ralph seemed to understand her decision once he heard that Walter supported it. She was grateful that Walter, and all of Scorpion were in their lives.

"Can I go do some equations that Sylvester gave me?"

"Of course." She replied as he stood up and walked back to his room.

Paige was worried that Ralph was more affected by Drew's departure than he was letting on. The worry must have been plastered on her face, because Walter moved off the coffee table and onto the couch beside her.

"I will keep an eye on him and let you know if the emotions he's keeping bottled up get to be too much."

"Thank you." Paige smiled at him and he smiled back.

Walter recalled the feeling he got in the pit of his stomach on Christmas when he saw Paige. He remembered the way the fake snow resting on her hair made her smile shine brighter. The feeling of wonder and invincibility once again found a home inside Walter as he wondered why being around her made him feel this way.

Interrupting both their thoughts was a knock at the door.

"Are you expecting anyone?" Walter asked in a near whisper.

Paige shook her head, indicating that the visitor surprised her too.

The knocking continued, this time with a repeated hard bang.

Walter steadily got up and made his way over to the door. Paige followed.

"Let me in Paige! Now!" The voice caused Walter's body to go stiff and a shiver to travel down Paige's spine.

It was Drew.

**A/N: I will try my best to update as soon as possible and thank you for continuing to support this story!**

**Thanks again for Reading/Reviewing!**


	7. Chapter 7

"Paige! I know you're in there! Open the door!" Drew's voice shot through the apartment. "Open the door!"

She could hear the anger in his voice. Surprisingly, there were traces of desperation as well.

"Paige?" Walter whispered.

Paige's eyes were plastered on the door and her lips remained closed.

When Paige didn't respond, Walter repeated himself, "Paige?"

"I'll call the police." She whispered back.

"Don't. Their reaction time is too long; he could knock the door down by the time they get here. I'll call Cabe, he'll send officials."

"Okay." She replied in a hushed tone. Walter could hear the fear in her voice.

"You don't think I'll get in do you?" Drew didn't stop banging on the door. Walter could tell from the way his words slightly slurred that he was most likely under the influence of alcohol.

"Mom?" Ralph walked out of his room with curiosity resting on his facial features.

The sight of the young boy caused Paige to panic. Walter on the other hand began running possible scenarios through his head; Ralph was a variable that couldn't be overlooked.

Before she had a chance to talk to her son, the banging stopped momentarily. The empty sound was soon filled with the ruffling of a bag and a key in the lock.

Walter looked towards Paige who was carrying a frustrated and fearful expression.

With both hands in her hair and eyes widened she whispered, "He has a key. I gave him one so he could get in when he looks after Ralph."

Walter did not like this one bit. Drew was getting into the apartment; it was only a matter of time.

"Take Ralph into the other room and message Cabe." Paige directed her words towards Walter.

"No, you can't be here alone when he gets in." Walter stated in response.

She walked closer to him, until they were feet apart.

"He knows I am here, but he doesn't know that you or Ralph are. The best way to get rid of him is to pretend that I'm the only one here. Okay?"

Walter didn't respond. He was not comfortable leaving Paige alone with him.

"Walter, please" Her voice was barely a whisper, but low enough that Drew couldn't hear, "Go, now."

As they heard the key turning, Walter led Ralph into Paige's room. He knew that the first place Drew would look for Ralph was in his room, so Paige's room was his best bet. He texted Cabe and signalled for Ralph to stay quiet, Walter's eyes wondered around Paige's room. It was colourful and there were several hanging paintings of flowers. The sight caused Walter to smile ever so slightly. The gesture however, dissipated quickly as he heard the front door open.

"Drew, what are you doing here?" Paige asked, desperately trying to hide her fear.

"I know what you tried to do, but don't worry, I won't fail this time!" As he got closer to Paige, she noticed that his breath was laced with alcohol.

"What are you talking about?"

"You told me to stay away… It was a test! I am going to pas it!" His eyes were wide with determination.

"It wasn't a test Drew." Paige stated as she lightly shook her head. She wished he would understand that she was being serious.

"It was! You wanted to see if I would leave again," Drew stepped forward, his face was in close approximation to hers, "Don't worry, I will never leave you again."

"Drew-"

"Our love is strong Paige, we can make it through this."

His words caused her body to jolt backwards. She had no idea where this was coming from.

"I know that you never stopped loving me. I left, but we never really said goodbye. I was thinking and I realized that we are meant to be a real family… you, Ralph and me. Speaking of Ralph, where is our little boy?"

Drew's head looked around her, unable to spot the ten year old.

It took Paige a moment to absorb everything that she was hearing. Once he said her son's name, she knew she had to act fast.

"Ralph isn't here." She awaited the brunt of his response.

"What?" Drew questioned, clearly frustrated by the lie, "Where is he?"

Paige couldn't spit out an answer. The anger and smell of alcohol protruding off of him ignited the fear she had been trying to hide.

"Walter?" He stated angrily, "Our son is with Walter? What is it about that guy? He's not your type… I am your type! You know what Paige, he can't be a father to my son!"

"Drew, calm down." Paige was desperately trying to keep the situation under control. Her eyes gradually fell on her bedroom door; knowing that Walter and Ralph were standing behind it. She closed her eyes, knowing that they could hear her conversation with Drew.

Drew took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Before she knew what was happening, his hands were cupping her face.

"You and me Paige… This is real. We are real." She tried to pull her face away but his grip was tightening, "Stop chasing this life that you can't have. You're meant to be with me. We have to be together in order to be a family."

His eyes locked with hers, only they were expressing severely different emotions. Drew's eyes were filled with desire and passion, whereas Paige's were filled with fear and confusion.

"I love you Paige Dineen." As his lips collided with hers, she felt the need to push back. His strength however was too much for her small physique.

Before she knew what was happening, Drew's face was ripped of hers as he saw him crumple to the floor. She took deep heavy breaths and she tried to regain composure and hide her relief that he was off of her.

She saw Walter standing above Drew, with his fists clenched.

"Go into your room Paige." Walter's voice was nearly unrecognizable. If it hadn't been coming from his mouth, Page wouldn't have been sure it was his.

"Walter," Paige walked up to him, "don't do this."

She was grateful that he had helped her, but she didn't want Walter to get hurt. Drew was drunk, determined and dangerous

"Paige," he turned his head so that his eyes were across from hers. Before he had a chance to finish, Drew's fist was flying towards Walter.

Paige jumped backwards in shock as Walter felt the brunt of the blow. The sheer force of his hit caused Walter to fall to the ground.

"Walter!"

Paige's response enraged Drew, so he swung his foot into Walter's side multiple times.

"Stop!" Paige cried out to Drew, "Please stop!"

When her screams didn't work, she stepped in front of Drew. It wasn't the smartest move, but she followed her instincts and did it anyways.

Surprisingly, her actions caused Drew to stop kicking.

"Dad?" Ralph entered the living space and saw Walter unconscious on the floor, his mom with tears streaming down here face and his father with an unrecognizable anger.

**A/N: I hope you liked the chapter! Thank you to all the people who have enjoyed this story from the beginning and all the new followers!**

**Thanks again for Reading/Reviewing!**


	8. Chapter 8

Paige's head shot towards her son as she heard his voice. She looked briefly at him then back at Drew; she was trying to anticipate his next move.

"I thought you said," Drew looked at Paige, realizing that she had lied to him about Ralph's whereabouts, "You can't keep trying to rip my son away from me!"

Paige couldn't stand to be continually blamed for his life choices. Memories filled her mind of when he had left and how she had felt broken. Out of everything that she was unsure about, there was one thing that she knew for certain… Him leaving was no one's fault but his own.

"You left! The only person who ruined your relationship with Ralph was _you_!" Paige didn't bother wiping the tears that were flowing down her cheeks. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she looked towards Ralph. This was the first time she had allowed herself to show her sadness about Drew leaving in front of him.

Drew looked from Paige to Walter then back towards Ralph. He began making his way towards his son when Paige ran in front of him, blocking him from getting to Ralph.

"What do you think you're doing?" Drew spat out.

"Honey, I need you to go to room now." Paige directed at Ralph without letting her eyes part from Drew's.

When she didn't hear movement behind her, she spoke again.

"Ralph, go to your room and get something to block your door. I'll come get you soon, I promise." She noticed Drew's face turn a deep shade of red; he was clearly angered by Paige's words to Ralph.

"You want him to block the door? What do you think I'm going to do to him?" His words were expressed loudly and his hands flew into the air, making over exaggerated movements as he spoke.

Paige's voice was broken as she remained in her protective stance in front of her son, "Ralph, now!"

"What about Walter?"

Ralph's words caused two separate reactions from the adults in the room.

Paige's eyes ripped from Drew and landed on an unconscious Walter. She thought about how he had helped her and how in this moment, she couldn't help him. She looked at his motionless body and felt a deep guilt for inviting him over in the first place; if she hadn't asked him to come over, he wouldn't be passed out on her living room floor.

Drew's response was much different than Paige's. The thought that his son was so concerned about Walter only enraged him further.

He stepped back from the two of them and turned around. Paige was ready to once again stand in front of Walter so Drew couldn't hurt him anymore than he already had, but then she noticed he was not walking towards Walter.

Drew ran his hands through his hair as he started to laugh.

It wasn't the kind of contagious laugh that Paige remembered from when they were young and in love, it was the kind of laugh that caused her to move closer to her son, who remained standing behind her.

"This is so unbelievable," Drew stated in between sickening chuckles. "Who the hell is this guy?" He yelled towards Walter.

Paige felt her son take a step towards her, resulting in her feeling his tiny body hiding behind hers. She wished that he was somewhere safe, but was simultaneously grateful that his warmth comforted her in this moment.

"I mean seriously! I am a minor league baseball player and this fool works in a run down building doing-" He stopped to look at Paige, "What do you and him even do all day? You're pretty much choosing someone who does absolutely nothing important over me!"

Paige could sense he as about to go off on her again, but before she or Drew could say anything more, Ralph stepped around her.

"What Walter does _is_ important." Ralph's voice was small, but impactful.

"Important?" Drew was beginning to yell again as he quickly walked towards Paige and their son.

Instinct kicked in as she lightly took her son's arm and told him to run to his room even though she knew he wouldn't leave her and Walter.

She was standing directly in front of Drew, as she saw his hands clenching into fists. She knew what was coming, and it scared her.

Her eyes closed as she prepared for his impending action.

Rather than feeling a shooting pain, she heard voices entering her apartment. The familiarity of one of the voices caused her eyes to immediately open.

"Homeland Security!" Leading the team was Agent Gallo, Paige released a bit of tension at the familiar sight.

"What is this?" Drew yelled as two of the agents grabbed his arms and pressed them against his back.

"Drew Baker, you are under arrest." Cabe said with anger lacing his voice. He saw Ralph standing behind Paige, who seemed to hold the fear of the world in her eyes.

"For what?" He spat out.

"For starters, assault." He said as she saw Walter on the ground.

"That won't stick." He stated coyly.

"Well, then guess we'll have to find something that will." As he assured Drew that he would be spending a long time behind bars, he gave Paige a tight, reassuring smile.

Paige returned the gesture then ran over to Walter and got down on her knees. She put both her hands on his cheeks, trying to wake him up.

"Walter? Come on Walter." Fresh tears formed in her eyes when he wouldn't open his. "Wake up. Please wake up."

She held her eyelids closed as her head fell forward.

"Is he going to wake up?" Ralph asked, causing Paige to look up.

She couldn't lie to him, not after everything they had been through.

"I don't know honey." She could see that Ralph was hurting; first his father came barging in full of anger and aggression, and now his mentor and friend is lying unconscious on the floor.

"Cabe!" Paige called out, "He's not waking up!"

Her words caught Cabe's attention as he came rushing over to the trio.

"We need a medic!" He called towards the other officials, who quickly radioed in for an ambulance.

"He's going to be okay." Cabe reassured Paige and Ralph, but really, he was trying to convince himself.

**A/N: I hope you all liked the chapter! Another one will be out soon!**

**Thanks for Reading/Reviewing!**


	9. Chapter 9

"We're going to need to take him to the hospital." The paramedic spoke in a polite, but hurried tone.

The two paramedics had arrived within five minutes and quickly began assessing Walter. One of them lifted his eyelids to examine his pupils; the sight caused Paige's heart to race faster. She had never seen Walter so vulnerable and helpless.

The male paramedic looked stern and suspicious of how his patient had received his injuries. He knew there was something going on, considering the abundance of agents in the small apartment.

His partner however, appeared gentle and friendly; it was clear she held sympathy for the distraught bystanders.

"Is he going to be okay?" Paige asked nervously, hoping she could get an answer from one of the medics.

"We won't know until we get to the hospital." The male said without much emotion.

After looking at Paige's teary eyes, the female began to speak, attempting to reassure Paige that everything possible was being done to help Walter.

"He's breathing normally and has a relatively steady heart rate. The only concern is the possible damages to his brain. Considering he has been unconscious for quite a while, it is crucial to get him to the hospital as soon as possible."

Paige slightly nodded at the medic, grateful for the information given, but nervous for what it could mean.

As the paramedics lifted Walter onto the stretcher, Paige couldn't stop the tears from flowing down her cheeks.

"You can ride in the ambulance if you'd like." The female told Paige. It was clear that she suspected they were more than just friends.

Before she could respond, Cabe had his hand on Paige's shoulder. "Go, I will drive Ralph and we'll meet you at he hospital."

She looked towards Ralph, not wanting to leave him after everything that had just happened.

"Go mom, Walter needs you." She was equally surprised and comforted by her son's words. She knelt down and gave him a hug.

"Miss, we have to leave now."

Paige ran her hand through her son's hair and quickly followed the paramedic to the ambulance where Walter remained unconscious.

* * *

Before Paige could register what was happening, they had arrived at the hospital and Walter was being rolled into the emergency room.

Paige felt as though she was standing still in a world where everything was moving forward. Doctors and nurses were racing around her dealing with an array of emergencies as she stood motionless staring at where Walter had been taken. There was one doctor and three nurses taking his vitals as he disappeared deeper into the hospital.

It was her fault that he was here.

"They're doing everything they can." Paige was pulled from her thoughts as the paramedic who brought Walter in began to speak to her.

Paige just nodded, unsure of what words she would be able to form.

"How long have you two been together?" It was strange for a medic to pry into people's personal lives; but Paige could tell that she was just trying to distract her from what was going on around her.

"Oh, we're not _together_." She stated as the sides of her mouth curved up slightly.

"You could've fooled me." The paramedic stated with a smile.

"Is he going to be okay?" Paige appreciated the attempt at a distraction, but her mind wouldn't allow for a thought other than Walter's well being.

"From what I can tell, he has a major concussion. The doctors here are going to have to perform tests to figure out why he hasn't woken up yet."

The paramedic placed her hand on Paige's arm before turning to leave the hospital. Before she exited, Paige quickly turned around.

"Thank you."

The paramedic nodded and headed out to join her partner in their ambulance. Paige's eyes began to wonder, looking for Ralph.

_They should be here by now_. She thought to herself.

As the thought made it's way through her mind, her eyes spotted her son and Cabe approaching.

"How's Walter?" Cabe was concerned and Ralph appeared uncomfortable with the whole situation.

Paige couldn't answer the question; she had no idea whether or not Walter was going to be okay.

"Paige?" She turned her head at the sound of her name. Walking towards her was Toby, Happy, and Sylvester.

"We got Cabe's message, what happened?" Toby was legitimately concerned; not just about Walter, but also about Paige and Ralph.

Paige turned to Cabe and gave him a look that thanked him for calling the rest of the team. After everything that had happened, it had slipped her mind.

"I asked Walter to come over to help explain Drew leaving to Ralph." Her eyes involuntarily closed as she recalled the events in her apartment. "Then Drew showed up."

Happy's expression turned from worry to anger as she put the pieces together. Sylvester's nervous hand twitches remained constant and Toby's mouth scrunched up at the thought of Drew hurting any member of their team.

"When he got in he was so angry," her eyes opened as fear and sadness crept into her features. "Walter hit him and before I knew what was happening, Drew hit him back and he was unconscious on the floor. He started kicking Walter in the stomach and he wouldn't stop."

Immediately after Paige finished retelling the events that occurred less than an hour earlier, Happy's anger reached its peak. She hit her hand against the counter top, causing nurses, doctors and patients to look towards the group.

"I need some air." Happy spit out as she stormed outside.

Happy had always coped by expressing anger. The idea that Walter could have brain damage caused her to lose control. His brain was what made Walter who he was. He had formed Scorpion with his brilliant mind and she feared what would happen if he lost it.

"I'll go check on her." Toby stated as he hastily followed her out of the hospital.

Paige remained standing opposite Sylvester, Ralph and Cabe.

"I'm sorry." Her words were almost inaudible under her near silent sobs, "I'm so sorry."

"Paige, this wasn't your fault." Sylvester tried to reassure her, but he could tell that she didn't believe him.

If there was one thing that Paige could do, it was hold guilt. Ever since Walter had informed her that Ralph wasn't challenged, but rather a genius, she had felt guilty for not noticing earlier. She would hold guilt on the smallest of things, one of which being that she never realized Ralph liked chess until that day in the diner. Before meeting Scorpion, Paige had tried for years to connect with her son and hadn't been able to. And now, Walter was hurt because of her. He could lose the thing he cares the most about because of her.

Interrupting her thoughts was the sight of the doctor who had been working on Walter. He made his way to the group of people as Happy and Toby returned. Happy still looked upset, but it was evident that Toby had calmed her down.

"Are you here for Mr. O'Brien?" The doctor asked.

"Yes." The whole team answered simultaneously.

"Mr. O'Brien suffered from a severe head injury, caused by a blunt force trauma to the front of the head."

Paige recalled seeing Drew's fist hitting Walter's face. Since he was under the influence of alcohol, he missed Walter's eye and hit him in the forehead. She cringed at the memory, hoping that Walter would recover.

"Since Mr. O'Brien remained unconscious for a long period of time, I ordered a Cranial CT Scan in order to properly evaluate the possible damage to his brain."

"What kind of damage are we talking about?" Cabe was trying to sound strong, but Paige could sense the worry in his voice.

"There is no way of knowing until he wakes up."

"When will that be?" Paige chimed in, desperate for answers.

"If you could wait in the waiting room, I will have a nurse come get you as soon as we know anything more."

"Can we see him?" Sylvester asked the doctor with nervous tension pouring from his words.

Sylvester was not only nervous because of Walter's condition, but also being in a hospital. He had always been weary of the germs that lurked, however it had gotten worse since he had been a patient. Being in a hospital reminded him that Scorpion was no longer a little cave that would keep him and his team safe. Nothing proved that idea more than today's events. If they could be attacked in Paige's own home, was anywhere really safe at all?

"Not yet. I will oversee his scans and conduct the rest of his tests, then you will be able to se him." The doctor turned and left the group to absorb his words.

Sylvester nodded, wanting this experience to be over as soon as possible.

* * *

It had been just over an hour when the doctor returned to the waiting room. Ralph was sleeping with his head on Paige's lap. Happy and Toby sat side by side on the couch, comforting one another with their warmth. Sylvester was beside Paige, as they tried to keep each other calm and Cabe sat opposite of Paige with eyes glazed over.

They were all in their own little worlds. Toby was thinking about all the times that Walter had gotten him out of a sticky situation. Happy recalled the times she had to pull Walter out of the rabbit hole, and feared how this situation had the potential to be worse. Sylvester was doing calculations in his head to avoid thinking about being in a hospital and Paige replayed the night's events over and over again.

Cabe sat staring into space thinking about all the interactions that he had ever had with the genius. He cared about Walter like a son. As he looked towards Paige and a sleeping Ralph, he made the commitment to himself that no matter what happens with Walter, he would look after them. He knew that Walter saw a mini version of himself in Ralph and he would want him to watch out for the young boy.

Ralph's eyes opened as the doctor approached. He sat up and rubbed his eyes as memories of why he was at the hospital flooded his mind.

"Is he okay?" Paige asked as the doctor approached them.

"Mr. O'Brien doesn't appear to have suffered any life threatening trauma to the body."

Paige let out a deep sigh of relief as she held her son close.

"He does have three cracked ribs, and some swelling in the brain. His respiratory and circulatory systems appear to be functioning normally."

"What about his brain?" Toby asked when he noticed the doctor hadn't informed them of Walter's mental state.

"He suffered a severe head injury, so we will not know his state until he wakes up. It is important that when he does, everyone is very patient with him."

"What do you mean?" Happy questioned, with stiff facial features still hardened on her face.

"It is possible that Mr. O'Brien will be confused and withdrawn when he regains consciousness. He may become dizzy and experience confusion for long periods of time."

The team looked at the doctor, who didn't realize the ramifications of his words. For a man like Walter O'Brien, confusion had the potential to destroy everything that he had worked so hard to accomplish.

"If you would like to see him now, you can."

"Can we all go?" Sylvester asked with slight impatience.

"Yes, for a moment. Considering the circumstances of the situation," The doctor looked towards Cabe, who had clearly flashed his badge at him, "Two of you may chose to stay overnight if you wish."

The doctor led them all to the room where Walter was laying unconscious with tubes running into and out of his body. The steady beeping from the heart monitor simultaneously comforted and frightened Paige.

They all stared at him for several minutes before the nurse on call informed them that they would have to leave.

Toby nodded at Happy and Sylvester, then turned towards Cabe.

"We're off now." Cabe told Paige as she kept her eyes locked on Walter.

"What?" She asked, unclear of what he was implying.

"Only two people can stay overnight. Since Ralph is still on winter break from school, you and he can stay the night."

Before Paige had a chance to argue, Toby, Sylvester, and Happy had already left and Cabe had placed his hand on her shoulder.

"He would want to see you two when he wakes up." Cabe gave her a tight smile before heading out of the room.

Paige felt Ralph's hand join hers. She looked down to see her son staring up at her. No words were exchanged between the two, yet they both knew what to do.

Paige pulled over the chair from the window and set in next to Walter's bed. She took a seat and took Walter's hand in her own. If she had had any left, tears would have flowed down her cheeks. She closed her eyes and whispered apologies to the unconscious genius before falling asleep.

She had intended for Ralph to join her in the large chair, but he had an idea of his own.

Ralph looked on and saw his sleeping mother holding Walter's hand. He casually walked over to the window and tried to push the other chair over to Walter's bed. He used all his strength but it wasn't enough to move the chair. Luckily, a nurse passing by saw the boy and entered the room. She quietly pushed the chair over to the other side of Walter's bed.

"You have a beautiful family." She whispered towards Ralph before heading back out into the hallway. Ralph climbed up on the chair and looked towards Walter and his mother.

He folded one arm on the bed and set his head down on it. He looked about and thought to himself about the likelihood that Walter would wake up soon. As he felt a wave of exhaustion overcome him, he took his hand and placed it in Walter's. He felt the warmth from the man's hand surrounding his own as he dozed off.

**A/N: I hope you liked this chapter! It was a bit longer than usual – let me know what you thought about the story and the length!**

**Thank you for Reading/Reviewing and have a Happy New Year!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I am REALLY sorry for the delayed update! A quick thank you to everyone who has stuck by this story! Enjoy the chapter!**

Walter's eyes opened slowly as his mind took in blurry images of his surroundings. Memories flooded his brain of the last moments he could recall.

He remembered being in Paige's room with Ralph. They could hear Drew talking about how he loved her and then everything went silent. He could only imagine what was happening in the living room. He recalled looking towards Ralph and telling him to stay there. Without thinking, he stormed out of Paige's room and was overcome by anger at the sight. He saw Drew kissing Paige as she tried with her entirety to push him off. Feeling his body overcome with heat and rage, he remembered hastily walking over to the duo and punching Drew off of Paige. He remembered turning to face her but then everything went black.

His eyes attempted to open one more time. It was dark in the room, he made the assumption it was the middle of the night. He closed his eyes, not liking the way his eyes were slowly adjusting to the dim lights in the room. He felt a sharp pain coming from his lower chest. He inferred that his ribs faced a strong force while he was unconscious. He heard the sound of a steady beeping; _a_ _heart monitor,_ he thought to himself. As he focused on the single sense of hearing, another sense jumped around in his mind; the sense of touch.

While Walter's arms were rather chilly, his hands felt warm. It was a strange feeling that didn't make sense to the genius. If his arms were over top of the blankets, then his hands should be too. Unless of course he was wearing gloves, but that wasn't a probable situation.

After running several scenarios through his mind about how and why his hands were warm, he decided to use his sense of sight to properly evaluate the strange feeling.

He opened his eyes slowly, allowing just a little bit of light to reach his pupils. He was definitely not expecting what he saw.

On his left hand side, Walter saw Paige sleeping with both her hands wrapped around his own. Strangely, the contact didn't make him uncomfortable. Her soft hands soothed his pain ever so slightly.

His eyes travelled to where his left hand was. When they approached their destination, he saw Ralph sleeping with a single hand placed inside his own. Unlike Paige's full encasement of Walter's hand, Ralph's tiny hand was merely placed inside Walter's. The sight made him smile, he didn't know why but he liked the feeling that holding hands gave him.

Walter found himself staring at the sleeping Dineens for several minutes. No equations or calculations filled his mind, merely the bliss of the moment he was in.

"You're awake?" The words caused Walter to refocus his mind, which had drifted.

The words came from his right hand side, where Ralph sat up in the large chair.

"Hey Ralph." Walter replied in a quiet tone, not wanting to wake Paige. "How long have I been out?"

Ralph didn't respond; he just shrugged as if he didn't know. However Walter knew that Ralph could give the exact amount of time he had been asleep, but for some reason he would't.

"What's wrong?" Walter asked, shifting his body to better face the young boy. The movement caused his ribs to cry out in pain, but he ignored the sensation.

"Nothing." Ralph replied as his head lowered ever so slightly. His face held a frown and saddened eyes.

"We only state facts." Walter said, knowing it would case a reaction from Ralph.

His tiny body shifted in the chair as he looked up at Walter.

They sat looking at each other in silence for several moments. Walter wasn't going to push.

"I'm scared."

His words caused Walter's heart to break. All his life he had hidden his emotions from the people around him; he had known they were there, but never told anyone.

He sat staring at Ralph, conflicted about how to reply. Since he had never intentionally shown emotion, he didn't have any idea how to confront people who expressed them.

"I know it was scary." Walter responded.

Since Ralph was a mini version of himself, he responded with how he would have liked to be comforted as a child.

"But it's over now." He said, inferring from his current situation that Drew would be locked up for a long time. "You're mom is safe and so are you."

Both Walter and Ralph looked towards Paige, who was still sound asleep. They both smiled while looking at her peaceful silhouette. When they turned back to each other, they continued talking.

"I know."

"What are you upset about?"

Walter gave him a minute to gather his thoughts. Neither Walter nor Ralph noticed that Paige had slowly woken up. She stayed in her sleeping position, but her eyes had opened and closed several times. Since she was exhausted, she closed her eyes to try to fall back asleep, but her ears will still open; she could hear their conversation.

"Are you going to be okay Walter?"

Walter hadn't expected the boy's worry to be attributed to his own well being. Simultaneously, Paige bit her bottom lip, she too was desperate to know Walter's answer.

"I will be okay." Walter replied, "Just a little banged up."

Ralph nodded, feeling more at ease then he had previously been. Paige smiled to herself as she heard Walter's words.

When Walter noticed that Ralph still wasn't back to his old self, he held onto the boy's hand a little tighter. His actions were an attempt to reassure the boy.

"I am not going anywhere."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

A smile formed on Ralph's face, which was soon mirrored by Walter. A tiny tear fell onto Walter's left hand. His eyes followed the sensation towards Paige, who he could tell was secretly awake. He wasn't sure what to do, so he gently squeezed her hand once as well. He watched as she began to smile. The sight caused a strange feeling to form in his stomach; it was tingly.

The three of them sat, dozing off and waking up in a cycle for three more hours.

When Walter's eyes opened, he knew he had been asleep for a while because it was bright outside his window and there was a lot of noise coming from the hallway. His eyes adjusted to the presence of bright lights in his room as he examined his surroundings.

The first thing he noticed was that his hands were cold.

It was a small feeling, but it left him in a pool of disappointment. When he heard the quiet whispers of a woman and child, he turned his head to locate the pair.

For a couple of minutes, he watched them interact by the windows. They had moved one of the chairs back to its original spot and were standing in front of it. Walter noticed how much better Paige was able to interact with Ralph. He recalled the first time he saw them in the diner and noticed how Ralph pulled away at her touch. Now, things between them had immensely improved.

"Did we wake you?" Paige whispered towards Walter as she noticed his eyes were open and staring at her.

"No."

"Good." Paige smiled at him with eyes lingering longer than usual.

"You're up." Ralph stated with a giant smile on his face.

"Yes!"

"I made this for you." Ralph handed Walter a sheet of paper. He opened it and saw an algorithm. "It's for you to solve when you get bored."

"Thank you." Walter smiled, making a mental note to complete it later on. He placed it down on his bedside table.

"Good morning Walter." The familiar voice comforted him as he shot his head towards the door to his room.

Megan was making her way to the chair that remained beside Walter's bed. She sat down and let out a huff of satisfaction for being able to sit.

Confused, Walter looked towards Paige who whispered that Sylvester had called her after he had left the hospital.

"You have got to stop doing this." Megan told Walter.

"Doing what?" He asked, even though he knew what his sister was about to say.

"Putting yourself in danger." She looked into his eyes, pleading for him to understand, "You have to be more careful Walter."

No one noticed Paige's head dip in shame at Megan's words. Paige knew that he was only in the hospital because of her.

"It's not that bad." Walter stated with light laughter.

His sister just glared at him, giving him a knowing look.

Before Megan had a chance to interrogate him further, a doctor entered the room.

"How are you feeling today Mr. O'Brien?" The male doctor questioned. It was the same man whom Paige and the rest of Team Scorpion had met the night before.

"Never been better." Walter stated, trying to ease the tension in the room. Paige and Megan just stared at him with worry, but Ralph cracked a smile.

"I'm going to ask that you rest for several more hours under hospital observation, then we will send you home tonight if everything looks good."

Before Walter had a chance to argue about the best method of recovery, Paige interjected.

"We will head out and let you sleep then."

She could see the slight flash of disappointment that crossed Walter's face.

"Ralph needs to eat. We will go down to the cafeteria for lunch, and then come back. You need to rest Walter."

"Okay." He nodded, understanding where she was coming from.

"Would you like to join us Megan?" Paige asked.

"That would be great thanks." She replied as she stood up from the chair.

"See you later Walter." Ralph smiled at Walter and then followed his mom and Megan into the hallway.

"I will be back in a hour or so to check on you. Get some rest Mr.O'Brien." The doctor stated before going to check on another patient.

Walter tried to sleep, but he wasn't tired. He stared at the ceiling tiles for five minutes before huffing out of bored frustration.

His eyes wondered around the room before settling on a folded piece of white paper. He remembered that Ralph had given him the algorithm to work on. He leaned over and grabbed the sheet from his bedside table.

He opened it and began to read it over.

He read it again.

And again.

Walter blinked several times before looking back at the sheet of paper. His heart began to pound faster as a feeling that resembled fear overcame him.

Walter O'Brien couldn't figure out how to solve the algorithm.

**Thank you for Reading/Reviewing! **


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Sorry for the late update! I hope everyone likes the chapter!**

An hour later Paige, Megan, and Ralph had finished eating lunch and were now staring at one another in silence. They knew that Walter was supposed to be relaxing, but they couldn't stand the thought of leaving him alone in his condition.

"So," Paige stated while trying to hide her anticipation, "Should we go back up to Walter's room now?"

"He's supposed to be resting." Megan replied.

Paige could tell that she wanted to see her brother, but was trying to follow the doctor's orders.

"You're right." Paige said with disappointment that mirrored Megan's.

"He's probably not sleeping." Ralph said in a quiet tone. "If I were him, I would be counting the ceiling tiles or going through algorithms in my head. I don't think it would be a bother to go and see him."

Paige smiled at her son; he too wanted to see Walter.

After resting her eyes on her son for several moments, Paige looked towards Megan. It was clear that she was debating what would be best for Walter.

"Okay, but I don't want to wake him if he's sleeping."

"One of us should go check to see if he's asleep." Ralph said even though he was sure Walter wasn't sleeping.

Paige looked towards Megan as they had a silent conversation of who would go and check on Walter. Megan could see the desperation that Paige was trying to hide on her face.

"You go ahead, I'll watch Ralph." Megan stated with a smile.

"Are you sure?" Paige asked with a slightly shocked expression.

"Yes. It's too hard for me to go all the way up there, especially if he's sleeping and I have to come all the way back down."

Mobility was part of the reason that Megan let Paige go, but it wasn't the complete reason.

Megan could tell that there was something going on with her brother and Paige. It was the little looks that they shared and the way that he opened up around her. But she also knew that Walter could be difficult to communicate with. He had grown close to her after years of growing up together, but he was never good with girlfriends. As Megan looked at the woman, she got the feeling that Paige and Walter were different; She couldn't think of any other word to explain their connection.

"Ralph are you okay to stay here with Megan?"

Ralph nodded, feeling comfortable around the woman knowing that she was Walter's sister.

"If I'm not back in five minutes, that means Walter's awake and you guys can come up." Paige said as she stood up and grabbed the trays on the table to throw out. She ran a hand through Ralph's hair and mouthed thank you to Megan before making her way up to Walter's room.

* * *

Paige entered the room quietly, half expecting a sleeping Walter. When her eyes locked on his body, a shiver of fear overcame her. She had no idea what was happening and worse, she had no idea how to help.

"Walter?" Paige asked with a worried tone as she made her way towards the genius.

Walter was sitting in the hospital bed with hands twitching at a pace that rivalled Sylvester's. His eyes were frozen in place as he blinked over and over again every 2 seconds. Walter's body was stiff and Paige couldn't help but wonder how long he had been in this state.

"Walter!" Paige yelled, hoping it would pull him out of his trance. It didn't work.

Paige continued to stare at Walter, recognizing his actions. She knew that he must be frustrated or panicking about something; he matched how Ralph looks when he can't solve something.

"Walter, please." Paige had never seen anyone enter the rabbit hole that everyone in the cyclone was always talking about, but she feared this was it.

She was beginning to panic; she had no idea what to do. Tears swelled in her eyes as she looked at a frozen Walter. She didn't like seeing him this way.

Paige thought back to when Ralph would get frustrated and what she would do to help. Since she was not a genius, she could only approach it the way she knew how; as a mother. She would provide Ralph with comfort and encouragement until his frustration was gone.

Without a moment's hesitation, Paige sat on the side of Walter's bed so that her face was mere feet away from Walter's.

She placed her hands on his cheeks and positioned his head so that he was looking directly at her.

"Walter. I'm right here. Tell me what's wrong." Her voice was steady. It took all her will power to hide her nervousness with the situation.

When she saw him gulp, she knew that he was trying to tell her something but the words wouldn't pass his lips.

Knowing that he would be unable to tell her, Paige took it upon herself to find out what made him upset.

_Since he was still in his bed, it must have been something that he was doing while sitting down_, Paige thought to herself.

She looked around and saw a scrunched up piece of white paper on the floor against the wall. From what she could tell, he threw it across the room.

She hastily removed her hands from Walter's face and ran over to retrieve the paper.

Her back was turned so she didn't see the flash of disappointment that crossed Walter's face after her hands departed.

Paige unravelled the sheet of paper and saw her son's handwriting. She recognized it as the paper that Ralph gave him before they headed down from lunch. She glanced to Walter, then back at the paper and realized that Walter must be having difficulty solving the algorithm. She remembered what the doctor had said about confusion. She couldn't imagine what Walter was feeling.

She brought the paper back to the bed and sat it down before she too took a seat.

"It's okay." Her voice was soft and reassuring. "Walter, it's okay."

"I-" He stumbled on the sound of his own voice, "I can't solve it."

Walter looked petrified at the thought that he couldn't solve a simple algorithm. He feared what would happen and how his life would change. He had ben running scenarios though his head since he had realized that he couldn't figure it out.

"You can, maybe not yet, but you can." She swallowed the lump in her throat and continued. "You hurt your head, it might take time to be able to focus, but you will be able to."

When Walter didn't respond, Paige dipped her head as tears slowly travelled down her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry Walter. I'm so sorry." Her voice was broken and something about that caused Walter to stop running scenarios.

"For what?" He asked, confused with why she was apologetic.

"It's my fault you got hurt. I'm the reason that you're confused and your-" Before she had a chance to continue, Walter interjected.

"This isn't you're fault Paige."

"It is. He only hit you because you hit him. And you only hit him because-"

"I hit him because I wanted to. You can't take responsibility for my actions. I made the choice to hit him and I would do it again."

Paige looked back up to Walter as a smile crept into her features.

"You're going to be able to solve it."

Walter looked at the sheet of paper; he had forgotten about the algorithm. Paige could see that he was about to start panicking about the algorithm again so she put her hands on his face and spoke.

"Close your eyes."

"Why?" He asked, with the shock from her warmth still present on his face.

"Just do it Walter." She told him playfully.

He closed his eyes.

"Think of a black hole. Don't think of anything except emptiness."

This was a challenge for Walter, but he completed the task.

"Now slowly think about the algorithm that Ralph gave you."

After a minute, Paige continued.

"Slowly approach the question and be patient with yourself."

Paige had no idea how Walter approached problems in his head, but she hoped that she was helping rather than hurting,

After several minutes of silence, Walter's voice rung through the room.

"I got it!" Walter couldn't help but be excited. When he took a step back from the question and didn't let his head overthink, he was able to solve it.

Paige mirrored his smile and they both were ecstatic. It seemed silly to Walter that he was so happy with having solved such a simple algorithm, but he couldn't help it.

Their smiles slowly faded, but their hearts were still beating fast.

Paige realized that her hands were still on Walter's face, so she removed them. As her hands pleaded for his warmth, her face received it.

Walter had put his hands on her face. Paige looked confused with his action, as if reading her mind he began to speak.

"I just wanted to see what it felt like."

"It feels nice on my end." She replied shyly.

"Mine too."

Paige blinked several times to make sure that she was seeing correctly; Walter's face seemed to be coming closer and closer to hers.

Instinctively she tilted her head as Walter got closer.

She could feel his breath on her lips as her heart pounded out of control.

Before their lips touched, their attention was drawn to an artificial coughing sound coming from the doorframe.

Turning their heads, Walter and Paige saw Ralph and Megan standing in the doorway staring at them.

Walter quickly removed his hands from her face as she jumped off the side of the bed.

"It had been longer than five minutes so we came up to see Walter." Megan said, trying to hide her amusement with the scene.

"Okay." Paige said as she walked towards her son, who remained silent. Her cheeks were red and she breathed slowly, trying to regain composure.

The silence in the room was deafening.

"Anyways," Megan said to break the awkward silence as she sat down in the chair by the window.

As she continued speaking, Walter and Paige's eyes locked. She lightly smiled at him and he returned the gesture.

Neither of them had any idea what just happened, but they both knew they wanted to try it again.

**Sorry again for the long wait! Thank you for Reading/Reviewing!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: 100+ Reviews! You guys are awesome! I sincerely appreciate all the wonderful things that people have to say about this story! THANK YOU!**

"Paige?" Walter's eyes opened after what felt like an eternity of sleep, "Paige?"

"I'm right here."

Walter's eyes were greeted with the familiar face of Paige Dineen. She and Ralph had stayed another night at the hospital. Walter sent Megan back, reassuring her that he would be all right and she needed a proper bed to sleep in.

"What time is it?" Walter spoke quietly not wanting to wake Ralph, who was asleep in Paige's arms.

She slowly shifted her son's body so that she could see the time on her watch.

"Around 4 in the morning."

"You two should really go."

Paige's head shot backwards lightly as his statement took her aback. Noticing the change in her demeanour, Walter realized he must have said something wrong.

"I just mean that you two should get some real rest." Walter's eyes shifted towards Ralph. He ran his hands through the boy's hair as he continued speaking. "He needs to sleep in his own bed."

"I know." She replied softly, smiling at the sight of Walter interacting with her son. "You're out of here tomorrow, so we will go home after we drop you off."

"Have you heard from Cabe?"

Without responding, Paige gave him a stern look.

"What?" He asked innocently.

"No."

"No what?"

"You're not going on any assignments or tackling any problems for a while."

"Paige, it's my job."

"You're job is to help people; something you cannot do if you're unable to focus and concentrate."

Knowing he wouldn't win this battle, Walter merely nodded towards Paige.

"Get some sleep." Paige said, cutting off Walter's thoughts.

As she began to close her eyes and try to get some rest herself, Walter began to speak.

"About earlier…"

Paige's cheeks blushed as she recalled the sensation of his lips being so close to hers.

"I don't know what came over me." He said in a nearly inaudible tone.

Paige bit her lip in response, nodding her head as she tried to understand what that meant.

"You and Ralph mean a lot to me." The words barely made their way out of Walter's mouth.

She couldn't imagine how he was feeling. If she had been mesmerized by the situation, he must have been as well. With senses heightened, she eagerly awaited to hear what Walter had to say.

"I think it's best…"

He wanted with his entirety to say '_that we try it again'._ He was desperate to be closer to her. However, like Walter always did, he let his head outrun his heart. As he looked towards Ralph, then back at Paige, he thought about what could happen if anything were to develop between the adults.

Knowing that he had never been able to hold onto a relationship with a girl, he decided to put Paige and Ralph's best interests above his own desires.

"I think it's best if we just forget about what happened."

Silence overcame the room as if everyone had forgotten how to speak.

_I am so stupid._

Paige couldn't help but condemn herself for thinking that they could have been anything more than friends. His statement genuinely shocked her; she knew that he didn't believe in love, but she thought that he felt something for her.

She could feel tears pushing at her eyes as she realized that she could never have a relationship with him. She had spent the last several hours thinking about nothing but their near kiss. Now, she knew that it was the most that would ever happen between them.

She wanted to get up and run out of the room, but she knew that would wake her son.

"Paige?"

Walter didn't know why he said her name. He knew that she was deep in thought. He pushed his head further back into his pillow and internally cursed himself for lying to her. He felt bolts of electricity run through him whenever he was close to her. He couldn't scientifically or logically explain the feeling, but he knew it was real.

Walter didn't want to put any more stress into Paige or Ralph's life. After what had happened with Drew, he knew that they needed space.

Neither of them wanted to say anything; Paige was too distraught to speak and Walter didn't want to verbally deny his feelings again.

The two of them sat in silence for hours as they waited for the morning sun to greet them and the young boy in Paige's arms to wake.

* * *

Ralph's eyes opened slowly as he felt a stinging in his back. Sleeping curled up in a chair was uncomfortable for both him and him mom.

He waited several moments before he began to speak.

"Mom?" He spoke quietly, thinking that her or Walter could still be sleeping.

"I'm right here." She answered, still trying to fight the tears in her eyes.

Ralph stood up and walked closer to Walter's bed. He jumped up and sat on the side of it when he noticed that Walter was awake.

Once he departed his mother's lap, Paige stood up to stretch her legs. She felt wobbly at their numbness and had to grab onto the chair for support. Her back was turned so she never saw the look of fear that passed Walter's face as he saw her almost fall to the ground.

She briefly looked at her almost invisible reflection in the window and fixed her hair before turning to face Ralph.

The sight caused her heart to rip.

She saw her son siting beside Walter with a huge smile on his face as they exchanged words.

After Walter had told her that he wanted to forget about what had happened, she had convinced herself that she would get over it. So many people had hurt her in her lifetime, yet something was different this time.

"How are you feeling today Mr. O'Brien?" The doctor said optimistically as he entered the room.

Paige was grateful for the distraction.

"Good." He lied. Walter was distressed and conflicted about what to do with Paige. He could neglect his feelings and spare her heartache, or be selfish and pursue a relationship. It killed him, but he knew he would go with his first choice.

"It seems as though you are ready to head home this morning. As I've told your friends," the doctor said as he glanced at Paige, "You're going to need to rest and not work your brain too hard. If you find it difficult to concentrate, sit down for a moment. If the confusion gets to be too much, call us so we can re-evaluate your condition."

Walter nodded.

"But I don't think that will happen. You seem to have good friends around to keep you in check." He said with a smile.

"Will you be driving him home?" The doctor asked Paige.

She had forgotten about that.

"We can!" Toby stated gleefully as he entered the room with Happy and Sylvester. "You two should really go home and clean up."

Everyone in the room noticed the seemingly insulting comment.

"What Toby means to say," Sylvester jumped in, "is that you and Ralph have been in a hospital for a couple days and the amount of bacteria here is astonishing. Not to mention that the chair you've been sleeping on likely harbours hundreds if not thousands of variant forms of diseases."

Paige looked at the chair then back to Sylvester and suddenly felt a dire need to shower.

"Good idea." She said as she motioned for her son to join her. "We will head home now."

"I want to stay with Walter." Ralph said with a look of disappointment sprawled on his face.

"You can come to the garage later on," Happy said reassuringly towards Ralph, "If that's okay with your mom?"

Paige nodded and grabbed her son's hand. It was clear no one had caught on to the tension between her and Walter.

"See you later." Paige tapped Sylvester on the shoulder and smiled towards the rest of the team, excluding Walter, before she and Ralph headed towards the elevator.

"What was that all about?" Toby said with a smirk as he stood beside Walter

"Nothing."

"You know that I can tell you're lying, right?"

"I said nothing happened Toby." Walter sated sternly.

Toby had always sensed that something was going on between Walter and Paige. It was strange when he offered the waitress a job, and how he would defend her to the rest of the team. He didn't need to be a genius to know that something had happened that was causing tension between them.

He put his hands up in the air, "Whatever you say."

"Alright, you're free to go Mr. O'Brien." The doctor joked as he entered with the discharge papers. He could tell that the patient's friends, particularly Sylvester, did not want to be there much longer.

As Toby walked to Happy's side, Sylvester was trying his best not to touch anything in the room.

Walter thought to himself about what he was going to do next. He didn't want to impose on Paige's life, but he also couldn't stand the thought of them not being together.

* * *

Ralph had cleaned up and was napping in his room when Paige stepped out of the shower. She continued to get ready and put on a fresh pair of clothes. She walked by her son's room and saw him sound asleep in his bed. She smiled at the sight.

Her thought's wondered back to Walter. She was still worried about him; she feared that he might not be able to concentrate with his concussion and what that would do to him. She knew that she had to put aside whatever feelings she had, not only for her son's sake but also for Walter's.

As she was about to call Happy to let them know that they would be on their way once Ralph woke up, she heard a knock at the door.

Paige made her way towards the front door and wondered who it could be.

_Maybe Cabe came to pick us up? _

She pulled her phone out of her pocket to see if she had any missed calls. She didn't.

_Cabe always calls before he comes._

She had a slight feeling of panic that it could be Walter standing outside her door. She didn't know if she could handle having another devastating conversation with him.

As she turned the door handle, she gradually saw who was standing on the other side.

She didn't know how it was possible. Standing in front of her was a man that she thought she would never see again.

Before she had a chance to press her speed dial, she felt a mist being sprayed in her face. The sensation of dizziness overcame her as she felt herself stumble to the ground.

With disbelief and confusion filling in her mind, her world went black.

**A/N 2: I am very excited about the next couple of chapters! I'd love to know what you thought about this chapter!**

**Thank you for Reading/Reviewing!**


	13. Chapter 13

"Have you heard from Paige?" Happy walked into the main room where Sylvester was doing calculations, Toby was reading two books at once and Walter was working on his MS research.

Walter knew he should be resting instead, but he felt as though he was wasting precious time when his sister direly needed his help.

The mention of Paige pulled Walter from his thoughts as he hastily looked towards the mechanical genius.

"Why?" Walter asked without a moments hesitation.

"She was supposed to call when her and Ralph were on their way over. It's been hours; I thought they would be here by now."

"Is that worry I hear in your voice?" Toby said mockingly as he put his books down and made his way towards Happy.

Instead of a snarky response as he would have expected, Happy just gulped and looked towards the other team members.

Noticing her demeanour, Toby concluded that she was bothered about something.

"Happy? What is it?" Toby's voice was lined with concern, which drew Sylvester's attention from his chalkboard.

"I didn't want to say anything if I wasn't sure. Usually it wouldn't be a big deal, but after everything that's happened-"

"Say what Happy?" Walter stood up from his desk as curiosity crept into his features.

"It's probably nothing, but I've called the house 15 times and Paige's cell phone 10 times and there is no answer."

"Let's track her phone," Toby interjected, "it's better to be safe than sorry."

"I just did." Happy replied, "It says she's at home."

"But she's not answering." Sylvester said nervously.

"What were the time intervals you called at?" Walter questioned, trying to find valid reason for the unanswered calls.

"I called at various times; every fifteen minutes, then ten, then five."

"Paige would have noticed the urgency in the frequent calls." Toby said as he took a step closer to Happy.

"Even if she didn't, Ralph would have picked up after seeing our name on the caller ID."

Walter began pacing back and fourth, running scenarios through his mind about what could be going on at the Dineen household.

He grabbed his phone from his pocket and began dialling.

"Cabe?" He asked with urgency, "Is Drew still in custody?"

The rest of team eagerly waited to find out the answer.

"Okay. We may have a problem, I will call if we need assistance." Walter hung up the phone and updated the team.

"Drew is still in custody, so he doesn't have anything to do with this. I'm going to Paige's home to see if they're there."

Toby could tell that Walter was overworking. Not only was the concussion still weighing on him, worry also took it's toll.

"They could be sleeping." Toby stated reassuringly. "Either way, we're coming with you Walter."

The rest of the team silently acknowledged his words. As they drove, each of them was in their own mindset, yet they shared a common goal.

As the team approached their destination, they noticed Paige's red car parked outside.

Walter knocked on the front door several times.

"Paige?" Walter lightly yelled through the door, "Paige! It's Walter, let us in."

After no response was heard, they decided to enter. Walter placed his hand on the doorknob and turned it slightly.

"It's not locked." He whispered towards the others.

Happy held a stern facial expression, while Toby remained straight-faced. Unsurprisingly, Sylvester just looked nervous as he taped his fingers against his leg in a rhythmic pattern.

Walter slowly opened the door and peeked his head inside.

Everything looked to be in its place.

He slowly walked down the hallway to Ralph's room. He noticed that someone had been sleeping in the bed, but was not there anymore; the sheets were pulled back as if the young boy had been pulled from his sleep.

"Walter."

When he heard his name being called, he immediately headed back to the living room.

He walked in to see the other three members of the team staring at something on the dining room table.

"What is it?"

Walter walked around them as his eyes settled on a piece of paper with his name on it.

The handwriting was messy, so they knew it wasn't Paige's.

Beside it was her phone; it's screen was pitch black.

He quickly picked it up and began pressing buttons in an attempt to wake it up. He saw the 10 missed calls from happy before his eyes settled on her background photo. It was a picture of her and Ralph at one of his birthday parties. They looked so happy.

A notification popped up on the screen. Usually, he wouldn't have felt comfortable reading her messages, but he recognized this one as strange. The contact the message was listed under was named _For Walter_. He took this as reason enough to read the message.

Once he opened it, he recognized the words and worry rushed through him.

_I'll see you back down the rabbit hole Walter_

"Walter, was it is?" Happy asked.

"We have a problem."

"Walter?" Sylvester pleaded.

"Collins was here."

No more words needed to be shared among the group; they all understood the ramifications of his statement.

* * *

The images were blurry at first, but gradually became clear. She blinked several times before attempting to sit up. Her hand went to her head as she remembered feeling confused and dizzy, but her memories were coming back slowly.

Then she recalled opening the door and seeing the face of the man who almost set off a nuclear attack. Her nerves screamed as she remembered the sick smile that spread across his face as she realized who he was.

_Ralph._

Whatever composure she had left was gone as soon as she realized that her son could too be in danger.

Paige swung her head around the room, not noticing anything except the young boy curled against the wall.

"Ralph!" Her words were quick and quiet as she stumbled to her feet and raced towards her son.

Ralph looked towards his mom with wide eyes.

"He said he was Walter's friend."

Paige nodded, trying to hide her fear.

"When we got into the van, I saw you laying there. He said you were asleep but I knew he was lying."

"Did he hurt you?" Paige asked, internally begging for his answer to be _no._

"No."

She let out a relived breath.

"Did he tell you why we are here?" She hoped that he might have shared the reason with her son, seeing as he was probably be able to connect well with the genius.

"He just kept saying that he 'is worth it' and 'Walter will understand'." She could hear the fear in her son's voice so she held him close.

Paige looked around the room and could tell they were in a basement of some sorts. It looked similar to the basement of his old house by the nuclear power plant. But she knew that he was smarter then to bring them back there.

It wasn't a cage, there was even furniture. But the bars on the tiny window in the corner contributed to her understanding that they were indeed trapped.

Paige could hear the sounds of a key in a lock at the top of the stairs. She held her son closer as she heard heavy footsteps making their way down.

Once at the bottom of the stairwell, he looked at the two sitting curled up on the floor and smiled. His round glasses framed his dark eyes, much like the last time that she had seen him.

She recalled how he had claimed that Walter only had a relationship with Ralph so that he could attempt to repair his own youth. She shivered at the memory of him claiming she and Ralph were just another one of Walter's experiments.

He interrupted her thoughts as he began to speak and stepped closer to the duo.

"I don't get it. Him, I get." He said while pointing towards Ralph. "But you." His eyes squinted at her, as if he was trying to figure her out. "You don't make sense. I've spent months trying to figure it out. Walter said that I didn't have a place on the team anymore because you're the piece that binds them together-"

Paige was confused. She wasn't present when the two of them had this conversation, so she had nothing to defend herself with. One thing she hated about Mark Collins was that he made her feel inferior; he made her second guess herself and Walter.

"Why are we here?" She asked, knowing she wouldn't get a straight answer. Even if he did reveal any detail, it would be hidden in code that she wouldn't be able to crack.

"I told Walter I'd get out… and like our dear friend always says, 'I only state facts'."

**Thanks again for Reading/Reviewing!**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: I'm glad to see that people are still enjoying this story! It is such a pleasure every time I get a notification of a Favorite/Follow/Review. Please continue with the kindness and I hope you like this chapter!**

"How did he even get out?" Walter had been pacing back and fourth with his hands in his hair ever since he received the text message from Collins.

The team had called Cabe and forced Walter back into the van after surveying the rest of scene. They then headed back to the Scorpion Base. The team did their best work there and Toby concluded that Walter needed to get out of Paige's house; it was becoming too overwhelming for him.

Sylvester was at the computer running a trace on the phone number's origin. Collins had put the number being used to communicate with Walter into Paige's phone as a contact_. _The team knew that it would be a burner phone without GPS capabilities, but they ran the number anyways. Any indication of Collins' intentions would be helpful.

The slamming of the back door tugged Walter out of his thoughts. Cabe had arrived and looked furious with the situation.

"Fill me in." He stated firmly.

Without wasting a minute of time, Happy jumped in.

"When Paige didn't call, we decided to go over to their place to check things out. Her car was outside and the front door was unlocked. Both Paige and Ralph were gone."

Before Happy had a chance to finish, Walter cut in.

"It was Collins."

It took a moment for Cabe to register the information and erase the shock from his face.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." Toby replied.

"Do we have any idea how long they've been gone for?" Cabe quickly questioned.

"Considering the fact that Paige's phone wasn't answered and they left the hospital 3 hours ago, by my calculations there's a 96% chance that it's been at least an hour and 47 minutes. We know that they had time to clean up by the damp towels hanging in the bathroom."

Sylvester's numbers did not comfort anyone.

"Maybe if I would have told someone that Paige wasn't picking up earlier-"

Toby could sense that Happy was guilt ridden for not mentioning something sooner.

"You had no reason to believe that anything like this would happen." He swallowed as he looked intently at her, "This isn't your fault."

Happy lightly nodded her head, knowing that reminiscing would not do anyone any good.

"How did Collins even get out?"

"He was moved from the military base to a federally operated mental institution." Sylvester read off of the computer screen. He had run a search after hacking the national database.

"That doesn't explain how he got out." Cabe said as he yanked his phone out of his pocket, "I will make some calls and see if I can find anything out."

Cabe left the room and Walter's face took on a unique shade of red. Noticing his strange coloring, Toby made his way over to Walter.

"They're going to be fine, Ralph is smart and Paige can fend for herself." Toby wasn't convinced that they were going to be fine, but he was determined to calm Walter down. He knew as much as the rest of team how dangerous Collins could be.

As the words left Toby's mouth, all Walter could think was _She shouldn't have to._ It killed him that Paige and Ralph were only in this situation because of him. Collins was his problem and he should have better dealt with it.

"What did you find out?" Happy asked eagerly as Cabe returned to the room.

"The head of the Institution here in L.A. was shocked to find out that Collins wasn't in his room. The guard who watches the patients had been signing the room check sheet claiming that Collins was in his room. The latest signature was an hour ago."

"Who is the guard?" Toby asked.

As Cabe opened his mouth to answer, the other team members chimed in.

"He could be involved." Sylvester stated with nerves pouring from his words.

"How long has he been doing that for?" Happy questioned, "Collins could have been out for weeks, if not months."

Walter had remained uncharacteristically silent until now.

"Lets go." Walter stated.

Cabe needed no explanation as to where the team was headed. The team needed to talk to this guard and figure out what Collins was planning.

* * *

Paige held a scared Ralph in her arms as Collins paced from side to side. He appeared to be deeply thinking; most likely about what was going to happen next.

Around the room, several numbers covered sticky noted that had been lazily scattered. The scene was not nearly as cluttered as his old basement. Paige assumed that he kept his timeline of numbers and data upstairs, away from prying eyes.

"What is it you want?" Paige asked with a soft voice. She didn't wasn't to upset Collins, who appeared already on edge.

He looked at her slowly and stuttered for a moment before beginning to speak.

"Me? What do I want? I want things to be the way they are supposed to be." The way the words were presented, it was as if Collins expected Paige to know what he meant.

Her eyes squinted slightly with confusion.

Paige's response caused Collins to giggle.

"I-I really don't know how Walter can put up with such intellectual inferiors. My visit to that pathetic excuse of an institution proved that normal people are completely useless."

He expected the comment to hurt Paige more than it did.

Paige had spent the last several months working with Scorpion and she had come to understand that they don't communicate like normal people. This resulted in her always giving them the benefit of the doubt, even when they had unintentionally said something hurtful.

Mark Collins was different though; he wanted to hurt Paige. He used his intelligence to get under people's skin. It bothered him that Paige wasn't offended by his comment, so he said something that he knew would bother her.

"You don't see it. But I do."

"See what?" Paige asked instinctively.

"People like Walter and I… Ralph even," He said as his eyes settled on the young boy, "we're fascinated by people like you and the way you think so small."

Paige's eyes locked with his as he continued. She was unsure where the conversation was going, but knew that it wasn't going to be complimentary.

"We want to observe and better understand the miniscule way that normal people live their lives. The point is, at the end of the day, geniuses don't need normals and Walter and Ralph will eventually understand that. You'll go back to being a waitress and having a son who doesn't even bother trying to communicate with you."

"That's not true." She tried to sound strong and defensive, but Collins caught the sadness in her voice and that only encouraged him further.

"Oh, but it is. Look at Sylvester, Toby and Walter… do they keep in touch with their mothers?"

Paige didn't respond because she knew the answer would be too satisfying for him.

"Nope!" He let out another giggle. "They don't! They keep in contact with each other. You seem to have this delusional idea that they will be different with you."

"That's because I know they will. I am important to them and they are important to me."

"That's what I thought too. I thought that I was valued as a team member, but they showed me their true feelings when they had me locked up."

Collins was first locked up long before Scorpion had met Paige or Ralph.

"What does this have to do with Ralph and I?"

"Don't you get it? You're blocking Walter's abilities! You are a distraction. When I was around Walter, we would explore the deep realms of his mind, but you're preventing him from expanding his intelligence. Once we're done here and you and Ralph are out of the picture, he'll realize that too."

Collins stood up straighter and felt a sigh of relief overcome him as he realized that his plan was going to work.

"Out of the picture?" Paige questioned. She held a little tighter onto her son who was fully aware of the conversation going on between the adults. In that moment, Paige realized what he meant.

"You wouldn't hurt him, he's just a boy."

Collins was committed to his cause and a little insane, but Paige doubted that he would hurt Ralph.

"I don't want to, but I must do what needs to get done."

His words caused a shiver to travel up Paige's spine as Ralph looked up at his mother.

"Ralph's intelligence will one day rival Walter's and my own, that is just going to distract Walter from what really needs to get done."

He began making his way to the stairwell.

Anger grew inside of Paige as she became simultaneously fearful for her son's life.

"And what is it that 'needs to get done'?"

Collins pushed up his glasses as he made his way upstairs.

"Scorpion - with just the two of us. The way it was always supposed to be."

**A/N 2: I will do my best to have another chapter out within a week. I hope this chapter didn't disappoint!**

**Thank you all for Reading/Reviewing.**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait, but here is another chapter! Enjoy!**

Walter sat impatiently in the passenger's side of the van as Happy drove the team to the institution where Collins had been held.

Toby, Sylvester and Cabe were not sure whether Happy driving them there was the best idea, but Walter was insistent. He knew that Happy would get them to their destination the fastest, and time was not on their side.

Walter had kept Paige's phone on him since they found it at her abandoned apartment. He knew that the device was the only way that Collins would try to contact him.

He was worried because he hadn't heard anything yet.

"We're here." Happy said quickly as she jumped out of the van. Walter followed in a similar fashion.

The rest of team members exited the vehicle slowly, trying to recover from the rollercoaster that is Happy's driving.

Cab managed to catch up to Walter as they entered the Los Angeles Institute for Mental Illness. As they approached the front desk where a young woman was sitting, Cabe grabbed his badge.

"Agent Cabe Gallo from Homeland, I called earlier today about a Mr. Mark Collins."

As Toby entered, he knew that the receptionist was an obedient citizen; she was displaying all the characteristics of someone who was happy to help government officials.

Happy kept the angry look on her face, while Sylvester was once again uncomfortable with being in a hospital.

"Mr. Gallo, I've called the director down. You can follow me to the meeting room." She gave an apologetic smile as she led the team to a white room at the end of the hallway.

"And the guard," Walter spoke up, "Will he be there as well?"

"Yes, he has been taken off duty until the matter can be settled. But Mr. Roch has kept him waiting for you."

She opened the door to the meeting room as the team shuffled in. There were several windows in the room, only the view was to the hallway rather than the outdoors.

Sylvester took note of the nurses and guards who were shuffling back and fourth. He noticed the white cards that each guard held onto and knew that they must be close to where they keep the patients. The thought did not comfort an already worried Sylvester.

Happy internally condemned herself for not noticing that something was wrong earlier. Toby could obviously tell that she was blaming herself because he stood right beside her and whispered jokes into her ear. She didn't laugh, but she really did appreciate his effort.

Cabe tapped his badge on the table as he was impatiently waiting for news and Walter was in his head running scenarios.

Unknowingly, the team had formed a line on one side of the table.

Interrupting all their thoughts and actions, the door opened and a man entered. He was older and had stress lines on his face. The team gathered that he was the director.

"Hello, I am Daniel Roch. First off, I would like to apologize for what has happened regarding Mr. Collins under my care." He seemed a bit nervous, but what he said next was full of purpose and promise, "But I can assure you that whomever is responsible will be punished. Since we are a small sector of the government that deals with severe security threats to this great nation, all of out guards are required to have military experience. How something like this could happen here is unbelievable to me. "

"Where is he?" Walter asked with no trace of patience in his voice, "The guard who has been claiming that Collins was still here."

"He'll be here in a couple of minutes," Daniel stated as he looked back out the door into the hallway. "But first, I thought this might help you."

He lifted up a cardboard box onto the table. Once the lid was removed, the team saw hundreds of pieces of paper. Written on them were large series of numbers. What caught Walter's attention was one yellow piece on the top; it was the only one with letters.

Written on it, was one word that had been circled at least a dozen times. It was as if it was the solution to Collins' problems.

_Dineen_

"This is everything that was collected from Mr. Collins' room. The guard is coming now." Daniel stated as he saw a duo walking towards them.

The man who had ben covering up for Collins' escape was young, maybe mid to late twenties. He looked nervous, unsurprisingly.

"Sit down." Cabe spat out.

The other guard, who had brought him in, quickly left the room as Daniel Roch closed the door.

"Why did you let Mark Collins out?"

No response.

"He looks guilty." Toby chimed in. "As he should. He is a criminal."

Toby said the last part, knowing that it would get a response form the man.

"I am not a criminal."

"Yes you are." Cabe replied, "You are facing counts of treason against this country."

His facial expression turned from fear to shock.

"What?"

"Unless you tell us why you're working with Mark Collins, we will have you arrested for-"

Before Cabe could finish his sentence, Walter became too overwhelmed and decided to speak up.

"He took two innocent people; a mother and a child. _You_ did this." Walter ripped Paige's phone from his pocket and showed the man the picture of Paige and Ralph. "Collins is dangerous and now the lives of these two people are in his hands."

While Walter's voice was strong, his eyes were beginning to water. He blinked several times before any of his team members could notice.

The guard put his head in his hands. "I'm sorry. I didn't know that he was that dangerous. Sure, he was a little crazy, but I had no idea that he was going to take those people."

"But he did." Said Cabe, "And you need to tell us where he took them."

"I don't know."

"You're working together, you must have known where he was going."

The guard looked up with wide eyes, "I'm not working _with_ him." His words were truthful; which meant the team had hit another dead end.

"Then why did you help him escape?" Walter yelled at him.

The team was shocked to hear Walter yell, Toby could tell that he was way past upset.

The man looked at Mr. Roch and sighed, knowing his words would cost him his position at the institution.

"Mr. Collins found out something about my past." He gulped, "I was young and stupid. It would have cost me my position with the U.S Military and I couldn't lose my job… My wife is expecting our second child, we rely on this pay check."

Cabe knew that what the man had done was wrong, but he couldn't punish him with prison time. He too had done things that violated protocol in efforts to keep his family safe.

"How long ago did he get out?" Walter asked.

"Just a couple days."

"Exact times, I need exact times!" He pushed for a more accurate answer.

"About three days ago."

Walter 's head began to shake back and forth; he knew that it was only a matter of time before Collins did something irreversible.

Walter stormed past the others as he left the room. He pushed his way through the crowds of people in the hallway.

He heard a tiny voice saying, "Excuse me sir. Excuse me." But he couldn't stop; he needed air. Once outside, he walked in a circle with a fairly small radius as he let panic creep into his bones.

"Excuse me!" The woman had followed him outside.

Walter stared at the woman who had curls of grey hair framing her aged face. "What?" He asked impolitely. He hadn't meant to be rude, but he wasn't interested in making small talk.

"I can see that you're stressed out, but don't forget your manners." The elderly woman's words reminded him of Paige. Paige was always reminding Ralph of his manners.

Walter smiled internally at the pleasant memory.

"What is it you need?" He asked trying to sound more sincere.

The woman just smiled at his attempt at using manners.

"Are you here about Mr. Collins?" She asked in a tiny voice.

Walter's interest in the conversation sparked as she mentioned Collins.

"What do you know?" He asked hastily.

"About a week and a half ago, I was chatting with another one of the nurses and I could feel someone lurking over us."

Walter nodded his head, waiting for something important to be mentioned.

"It was Mr. Collins; he was listening to our conversation. Anyways, I was talking to her about a foreclosed home on the other side of Los Angeles. After I mentioned it, Mr. Collins retreated to his room for almost two days straight."

"That's were he went." Walter unintentionally said out loud.

"I don't know for sure, but it seems likely."

After giving him the address, Walter began to walk towards his team to tell them about the foreclosed home.

Something his mind made him stop in his tracks. _What would Paige do?_

He turned to face the older woman.

"Thank you."

The woman smiled at him, then Walter headed off to join his team.

**A/N 2: Thank you all for your patience with the updates. I try to write as often as I can and I appreciate the continued support. **

**Thank you for Reading/Reviewing.**


	16. Chapter 16

"Ralph, wake up. Ralph." Paige gently tried to wake up Ralph who was sound asleep in her arms. They had been in the basement for hours and her son couldn't bear to keep his eyes open any longer. Paige knew that he needed to stay awake and alert; anything could happen at any moment.

The threats that Collins had made towards her and her son replayed over and over again in her mind. She knew that Collins was insane and doubted that he would stop until he gets what he wants.

Despite her best efforts, Ralph continued to sleep. When she heard footsteps coming down the stairs, she shifted so she could stand up in front of her sleeping son.

"Hello again." Collins said with a smile as he approached Paige.

"What do you want?" Immediately after she asked, she knew it was a stupid question.

"You know exactly what I want… and you also know that I'm going to get it."

"Walter misses you." Paige didn't have a chance to think before the words escaped her lips. She knew they weren't true, but she had to do something.

"Don't lie to me."

"I'm not lying. He wouldn't let the others know, but he regrets having you locked up again."

A tiny smile formed then faded off of Mark's face. He was unsure about whether or not to trust her.

"He told me that he misses your intelligence." She knew that Collins would believe that, because he missed Walter's intelligence as well.

"See? I knew that I had done the right thing." Collins seemed pleased with the news that Paige had shared; unfortunately, it just gave him more of a drive to complete his task.

"Now once I get rid of you and Ralph, my plan will fully go into motion."

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"No?" He asked mockingly, "You don't think this is a good idea? Well I'm not worried because you and your 95 IQ are not in control of this matter."

He chuckled at the thought of an IQ so low.

"If you do anything to Ralph, Walter will never forgive you. You'll never become close with him again."

Paige may not be genius but she has an EQ higher than most people. She couldn't bear to hear him make threats against her son.

"I can promise you that if you take anyone away from his team, you will never be allowed on it."

"It is _our_ team, _not_ just his." Collins was getting upset with her as he moved to stand mere feet away from her face.

"Then let us leave."

"Why would I do that? You'll go running back to Walter and plant misconceptions about my plans in his head."

"If you hurt us, he won't forgive you. But if we just pick up and leave without a word, then he'll never forgive us… leaving you a spot with Scorpion."

The two adults stared at each other for several minutes.

Paige was trying to see if Collins believed her, while he tried to see if she was bluffing.

"How do I know you're not lying?"

"Because I'm a mother and I love my son. Yes, I care about Walter and Scorpion, but I will not risk my son's life just to be a part of the team."

Paige had no intention of leaving, but Collins didn't have to know that.

"Then you will call him and tell him you and Ralph are leaving."

"What?" Paige asked, confused.

Without giving a response, Collins grabbed his phone and called Paige's number. After only one ring, Walter picked up the phone.

"_Paige_?" He asked from the other end of the line.

"Walter?" Paige was relieved to hear his voice. The last time they talked, he was telling her that they should forget about their near kiss at the hospital. She remembered losing her breath and the feeling that her heart was ripping. But in this moment, she couldn't think about anything other than being right by his side.

"_Don't worry we are-"_

"You're on speakerphone Walter." She spoke quickly when she realized that Walter and the rest of the team were on their way. She could hear Happy's driving in the background; there were car horns honking from every direction.

"_Collins?"_ Walter asked hesitantly.

"Hello Walter. Please, don't stop on my account. Continue with what you were going to tell Paige."

"_Well, I was just going to tell her that we are doing our best to find her and Ralph." _

Paige was always impressed by the way he could improv in high stress situations.

"There's no need for that anymore Walter." Collins said with pleasure.

"_Why is that_?" Paige could tell that Walter was worried on the other end of the phone.

"We're leaving Walter. Ralph and I don't want to be here anymore." Paige spoke shyly and Walter was confused; He wasn't buying it, so there was no way that Collins would.

Before any more words could be exchanged, Collins' laughter echoed in their ears.

"How stupid do you think I am?" Collins spoke with precision and dangerous intent.

A minute went by with complete silence. Collins was looking at Paige and she was returning his glare. She felt blind for not seeing that he didn't believe her.

"_What's going on_?" Walter's voice was insistent and filled with worry.

"Walter, Paige is not only a danger to you but also to Scorpion. She confided in me that she would not risk her son's life to be a part of the team."

Paige's heart sunk as his words entered her eardrums.

"She is weak and not worthy of your intelligence. But I am Walter. I am."

"_What are you talking about_?"

"I am willing to risk everything to be a part of Scorpion again. I will risk Ralph's life to prove to you that I am dedicated."

"What?" Paige asked fearfully.

Collins ended the call and looked towards a sleeping Ralph. Paige stepped in front of him and blocked his view of the child.

She didn't need to say anything for him to know what she was doing; she was not going to let him near her son.

"I will be back in five minutes, then we can see who deserves a spot working with Walter."

He turned around and walked upstairs. Immediately after the door closed, a teary-eyed Paige ran over to her son and forced him to wake up.

"Ralph!"

His eyes opened quickly as he woke to his mother's fear filled eyes.

"Mom?"

"We need to get out of here now." Paige looked around the room for anything that would break the door at the top of the stairs. Worry began to overwhelm her as she realized that Collins was on the other side of the door; even if they could get out of this basement, how could they get out of the house.

When she felt a small tap on shoulder, she immediately turned towards her son.

"The window." Ralph was pointing at the small window that only the young boy could fit through.

"What about the bars?" She asked, knowing that her son had already come up with a solution for the problem.

"This house is old with water damage, the integrity of the bars is compromised." Ralph stood up and walked over to the window. From his height, it was difficult to see, but he managed to make an observation. "There are a lot of abrasions on the titanium oxide film, which leads to a higher chance of corrosion."

Paige looked at her son with pride and curiosity as to the source of his information.

"Happy taught me about titanium, and all sorts of metals. We just need to apply a force and they should break off."

"Okay." Paige began looking around the room for anything that would break the bars. When she spotted a hammer under the stairs beside a toolbox, she grabbed it and headed over to the window.

"Mom?"

"Yes?" She asked, keeping a note of how long until Collins was set to return.

"You can't get out the window." Ralph looked up at his mom with confusion. He didn't understand why they would be making a plan that didn't benefit her escape too.

"I know. Once we get the bars off and get the window open, I am going to lift you up and you're going to run. Okay?"

"I don't want to go if you're not going."

"You have too. Please." She could tell that Ralph was afraid. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes."

"Okay, then you're going to run. Walter will be here soon and he will keep you safe."

"What about you?"

"You can tell the team where I am and they will come help me." She swallowed the lump in her throat, and then continued, "I will be okay."

"Scoop swear?"

Paige didn't want to make a promise she couldn't keep. But at the same time, she knew that if she didn't, Ralph wouldn't leave her and he too would be in danger.

"Scoop swear."

She turned around and began pulling on the metal bars. After around 20 seconds of trying, the bars finally snapped off.

With a sigh of relief, Paige lifted the latch on the window and opened it. Her relief dissipated as rapidly as is formed when she heard the door at the top of the basement stairs opening.

"I love you." She said as she lifted her son to the window so he could crawl through it.

As soon as both his legs were through the window, she couldn't help the smile that formed on her face.

"What the-" Collins spotted Paige at the window and noticed Ralph's absence. He took heavy steps as he walked over to her.

"Mom?" Ralph feared for his mother who remained on the inside of the house.

"Run Ralph!"

"I love you too." The words were quiet but she heard them with full clarity.

Paige quickly inhaled. Ralph never said that. She always knew that he loved her, but hearing the words coming from his lips somehow expanded her love for the boy.

She was smiling at the sight of Ralph running away when she felt heavy hands gabbing her shoulders and pushing her to the ground.

**A/N: I'd love to know what you thought of this chapter! Thanks for Reading/Reviewing!**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Thank you all for continuing to tune into this story! I apologize for the delay with the updates, as you can imagine it is a very busy time of the year! Enjoy the new chapter!**

"Why did you do that?" Collins pushed Paige to the floor.

He looked out the small window and saw a young boy running out of sight.

"That was not a part of the plan."

He threw his hands towards his head as he tried to figure out what to do.

Paige didn't respond, she was just happy that her son was away from Collins.

"You didn't change anything." Collins spat towards her, "I will still get to him and the others."

"Walter will protect them. All of them." Paige was confident that Walter would make sure that not only her son, but also their friends wouldn't get hurt.

"Everyone but you it seems."

Paige knew exactly what he meant; she couldn't stand the thought of Ralph losing both his parents.

_At least he'll have Walter and the others._

"Why are you smiling?"

Paige hadn't realized that a small smile had formed on her face.

"Stop it!" Collins was furious that she was acting as though she had won.

Paige pushed herself up from the floor and took a step towards him.

"Now is when you have to make a choice." Her voice was solid and unwavering.

He stood silently, purely curious about what idiotic words would pass the woman's lips.

"You're plan didn't work. Walter is going to figure that out. Just let me go and I will tell him that you were kind and let me live."

"Kind?" Collins was flabbergasted, "You think _kindness_ will impress Walter?" He was on the verge of laughter.

"Yes." Paige knew that Walter appreciated kindness. She was kind to him and he liked her for that. Paige let her mind momentarily wander as she imagined other things that Walter might like about her.

"Strength." One word left his mouth. There were many ways the word could be interpreted, but they both knew what he meant.

"I have the strength to make the hard choice. I will do what Walter needs, not what he thinks he wants. One day, he will thank me for it."

Collins reached behind his back.

"You talk about choices Paige… well this is mine."

Her eyes caught the sight of a black object being pointed at her.

Collins held the gun firmly, confident in his decision. "First you, then Sylvester. Oh! I won't forget about that agent… Gallo is it? That'll be a fun one since he shot me the last time I saw him. Shortly after, Happy and Toby. Then," He took a step towards her, "Ralph. And it'll be slow."

Paige could feel her heart beating out of control as her fists and teeth clenched.

* * *

Ralph's legs felt weak. He hadn't been running for long, but he was sprinting and slowly losing breath. His vision was becoming blurred as external sounds jumbled together.

Suddenly, his feet stopped in their tracks as he bent over and grasped his chest. Ralph could feel the strong beating of his heart against his skin, and he was unable to move further.

His head swung from side to side, taking note of his surroundings. He was standing in the center of a middle class neighbourhood. The houses were all neutral colours with manicured lawns. He saw a woman walking a small dog on the other side of the street. Once she saw him, she began making her way towards him. She appeared to be full of concern.

Ralph didn't know how to respond. He had to find Walter; he didn't want to talk to anyone else, and certainly not with a stranger.

Frantically looking around, his eyes caught sight of one of the house's basement windows; Ralph felt an overwhelming feeling consume him.

He turned around, tempted to run back to the house that his mother was locked inside of. He bit his bottom lip, regretting leaving her alone.

"Are you alright?" His attention was drawn to the woman standing in front of him.

Ralph didn't reply.

"Are you lost?" The woman's voice was full of concern as she reached into her purse and grabbed her phone.

"I'm going to call the police. You're going to be home soon." The woman, who was completely oblivious to the boy's situation, remained by his side as she began dialling.

Before she could press the call button, a vehicle hastily swerved down the road. The sound of horns honking from the highway accompanied it.

Their heads turned towards the sounds and they spotted a black van driving down the road going at least double the speed limit.

Ralph could see a black haired woman driving the van; it was Happy. Ralph raced towards the vehicle as it halted to a stop in front of him. The woman, who was confused and frightened for the child's safety, followed.

The side door opened and Walter and Cabe jumped out.

"I've called the police!" The woman shouted, trying to ward off the strange men.

"Ma'am, I am Agent Cabe Gallo from Homeland Security." He pulled out his badge as the woman felt noticeably relieved.

Ralph ran into Walter's arms.

"Walter."

"I'm here bud." Walter ran his hand through Ralph's hair, grateful that the young boy was safe. Worry consumed him as he looked around and didn't see Paige anywhere. "Where's your mom?"

"She couldn't get out. She told me to run."

Walter's eyes locked with Ralph's.

"You have to save her Walter. Please."

Ralph's eyes were watering.

"I will." Walter stood up and turned towards Cabe, who had just sent the woman home. "The address for the house is just down that street."

"I will keep Ralph here; we need to keep him away from Collins. You and the others go get Paige back. I will call for reinforcements."

Walter jumped back in the van as Ralph ran towards Cabe.

Happy began driving towards the foreclosed house.

"He's going to be fine; he was just a little shaken up." Toby tried to comfort Walter.

When he just nodded in response, Toby continued.

"So will _she_."

Walter looked at Toby, as if debating whether or not he should let himself believe that.

"We're here." Happy yelled as the van came to a sudden stop.

"Thank goodness." Sylvester said as he hopped out with a nauseous expression plastered on his face.

Walter, Happy and Toby jumped out of the van and began heading for the front door.

Suddenly, all of them stopped in their tracks as their heartbeats sped out of control. The sharp sound originated from the basement of the house they were about to enter.

Walter had no question about what it was he had just heard.

It was a gunshot.

**I hope you liked the chapter! Thank you for Reading/Reviewing!**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: There are no words to describe how apologetic I am for this extremely late update! All I can say is thank you to those who have stuck by this story, and those who are new fans! Enjoy the chapter!**

The numbing sound of a gunshot rang through Walter's ears.

Fear and worry consumed him.

Paige was in that house with Collins and it was his fault. If he had never dragged her into the team, she wouldn't be…

Walter wasn't able to think about what could be happening to her right now. All he knew was that he needed to get inside.

"Walter! Walter!" Sylvester's voice broke the silence that was consuming the team. "Was that a gunshot? Oh no, don't tell me that wasn't a gunshot!" His shaking voice caused Walter's fear to grow.

Without speaking a word, Walter began walking quickly into the house. Before he could make it through the front door, he felt a hand grabbing his arm.

"Walter, you're unarmed." Happy was holding onto his arm with all her might.

"I don't care."

"At least wait for backup." Sylvester begged.

Walter looked back to where he knew Ralph and Cabe were. He knew that Cabe would not approve of him going in without backup.

Then, he thought about Ralph.

Ralph needed Paige, and so did Scorpion.

Walter turned towards the house and walked inside. As he walked on the old hardwood floors, he saw clear signs that Collins had been staying here. The walls were lined with numbers; his _timeline_.

He let his curiosity consume him for a mere moment as he observed the house and took note of his surroundings.

The steady footsteps he heard behind him informed him that he was not alone.

"Walter, this isn't your best plan, you know."

Walter turned to find Toby at his side.

"Walking into a building unarmed… right after a gun was fired." Toby smirked as Walter's face remained in its familiar stern form. They both looked around, trying to find the door to the basement.

Toby's face became serious as his eyes set on the basement door. "Right there, Walter. She's down there."

Without wasting a second, Walter ran to the door and yanked it open. He walked slowly down the stairs with his hands in the air, preparing to find Collins pointing a gun at him.

What he saw instead made him feel simultaneously relieved and worried.

* * *

_Collins held the gun firmly, confident in his decision. "First you, then Sylvester. Oh! I won't forget about that agent… Gallo is it? That'll be a fun one since he shot me the last time I saw him. Shortly after, Happy and Toby. Then," He took a step towards her, "Ralph. And it'll be slow."_

_Paige could feel her heart beating out of control as her fists and teeth clenched. _

_She discretely took a step towards Collins. _

_"I can see you moving closer Paige. I'm not an idiot. What's your plan? You won't be able to run. Hmm, maybe you'll try to distract me, or seduce me like you did with Walter._

_Collins began to laugh as he rolled his head backwards, trying to contain his amusement. _

_Paige saw an opportunity, and she took it. _

_She swung her fist out and knocked the gun out of Collins' palm. His head shot towards her with an anger riddled face. _

_"You stupid-"_

_Before he could finish, Paige had thrown her fist towards his gut and began running for the stairs. Collins was hurdled over and clenching his stomach. The sight of her getting away gave him the strength to get back up. _

_He stood up and grabbed her leg as she attempted to escape the basement. His strength was too much for her and it caused her to fall back down the stairs. _

_"You didn't seriously think that was going to work, did you?"_

_As Collins began one of his memorable speeches, Paige looked around for something, anything to protect herself with. Her eyes caught sight of the gun that she had knocked out of his hand. She stretched out her arm to grab it. _

_"You are a brave little one, aren't you? I'll be sure to tell Walter that you fought in your last moments… I wonder if your son will do the same? I doubt it though, he seems-"_

_Paige pulled the gun upwards and pulled the trigger. The expression that passed Collins' face went unnoticed by Paige, who couldn't believe what she had just done._

_She scrambled to her feet as everything around her became fuzzy. The only clear image was the body that she had just sent to the ground in a pool of blood._

* * *

"Paige?" Walter let out a breathe of relief and raced towards the startled woman. "Paige?"

He had expected her to be happy to see him, but instead the woman's eyes were blank and empty.

"She's in shock." Toby swiftly made his way up to the duo and began examining Paige. "Check Collins."

Walter looked at Paige, then towards Collins, then back at Paige.

"No."

"What?"

"No."

"Walter, check his vitals. We need to see if he's breathing."

"I'm not doing that Toby." Walter's voice was stern as he glared helplessly at Paige. "He had full intention of harming Paige and Ralph… there's no way I'm helping him."

"Walter, right now Paige is in shock from shooting someone, from what I can assume to be the first time in her life. When this wears off, what do you think will happen to her if she finds out she killed someone?"

Walter swallowed hard, knowing that he was right.

"Go check his vitals." Toby considerately ordered as he spoke to Paige. "Paige? Can you hear me? It's Toby."

Paige stood silently; staring at the body she had just sent hurdling to the ground. In her right hand, a gun still occupied her sweaty palm. Toby put his hand over the gun and removed it from Paige's hand.

"He has a pulse… it's weak though."

"Okay." Toby responded while maintaining his focus on Paige. "He's alive. You didn't kill him… You did what you had to do to protect yourself, and Ralph."

Suddenly, Paige's eyes become lively again as a fear stricken expression consumed her facial features.

"Ralph!" Her voice was weak as her head began to frantically search the room for her son. Her heart was racing, which was evident due to her fast paced breathing.

Toby grabbed her shoulders, as he looked at her straight on. Walter remained by Collins' side, but his body ached to be in Toby's place.

"Ralph is okay. He is safe."

"No, he was here!" Tears began to stream down her face. Her fear was uncontrollable and she appeared to be inconsolable.

As she saw the small window, the memory of Ralph getting away flooded into her mind. She covered her mouth with her hand in relief and let out several more sobs.

"He's fine Paige, he's with Cabe now." Toby put a hand on her shoulder as he let the situation sink in.

"Can I see him?"

"I'll tell Happy and Sylvester to pick them up. We left them up the street."

Paige nodded and Toby ran up the basement stairs.

She turned and her eyes settled on Collins' body.

"Walter?" Paige was frozen in place. "Is he going to die?"

"I don't know." Walter could tell that Paige was becoming overwhelmed with guilt. He knew that what Toby had said was true; if Collins dies, it will change Paige.

"What if he does?" Her eyes swelled with tears as Walter made his way towards her.

He placed his hands on her shoulders and looked intently into her eyes. "Then we'll cross that road when it comes."

"I shot him Walter." She leaned her head in and began to sob, "I shot someone."

Taking him by surprise, she took a step closer and began to hug him. More than anything, Walter was surprised that he wasn't uncomfortable with the contact. He returned the hug as she cried into his shoulder.

**Thank you for Reading/Reviewing! I'd love to know what you all think of the chapter! **


	19. Chapter 19

Toby ran up the basement stairs and headed for the front door. His eyes avoided the walls, as they were filled with distractions and he was currently on a mission. "Happy! Sylvester!" Toby called out, waiting for a response as he made his way outside.

"Toby? What happened? Is everything okay? How's Paige? Was she-" Before Sylvester could finish his nervous series of questions, Toby interrupted.

He looked directly at Happy with a rushed face and tone, "Call an ambulance."

"Oh no. Oh no. Oh no." Sylvester began tapping his hand against his thigh.

"Is she breathing?" Happy cut off Sylvester, as she too was beginning to worry.

"Paige wasn't shot." Toby took a step closer to Happy, "She shot Collins."

Toby's words caused a breathe of relief to escape Sylvester's lungs and a pride filled smile to momentarily pass Happy's lips.

"How is she?" Happy questioned as Toby got closer to her.

"She's shocked, but I think she'll be okay."

Happy tilted her head down, relieved for her friend's safety. Toby placed his hand on cheek, noticing her panicked composure.

"She'll be okay."

Happy looked up at Toby and smiled.

Interrupting them, Sylvester began to speak. "Hello? Hi. I will need an ambulance please… The address? Um, let me see. One moment please."

He looked around helplessly, trying to determine their precise location.

Happy gave Toby a side smile as she departed from their closeness and grabbed the phone from Sylvester.

* * *

"Ralph, how are you doing?"

Ralph hadn't said a word since Walter and the others left to find his mom. Cabe was worried about him.

The sounds of hastily driving vehicles approached and Cabe knew it was Homeland. The vehicles began slowing down so Cabe motioned for them to continue towards the house.

"Those agents are headed in your mom's direction. They will help the others save her."

Innocence and worry simultaneously filled Ralph's eyes and voice as he turned towards Cabe.

"What if they're too late?" Ralph's lips closed and his eyes remained wide; he was waiting for an answer that Cabe couldn't give him.

"Ralph, your mom is strong. She loves you more than anything in the world." Cabe knelt down to match Ralph's height.

As he opened his mouth to continue speaking, their attention was pulled towards the sound of sirens rapidly approaching.

They turned their heads to see an ambulance racing towards the house that Ralph had just escaped from.

Cabe turned his head to reassure Ralph, but before he could, he heard the faintest of words.

_Mom_

Before he knew it, he saw Ralph sprinting after the ambulance.

* * *

"Paige, we should head up now."

"What about Collins? Shouldn't we make sure he doesn't get away?"

"I don't think-" Walter stopped himself.

He was going to state the obvious and say that Collins wasn't going anywhere. With his amount of blood loss, it wasn't even probable that he would live for much longer.

But holding Paige in his arms, he knew that he shouldn't say anything.

"Okay. We'll stay until Homeland gets here."

They stood in silence staring at Collins for several moments before Homeland agents filled the room. Following the agents, two paramedics raced towards Collins and began tending to his wound.

Paige backed away from the commotion and Walter could tell that guilt was consuming her.

"Come on, let's go upstairs." He gently gabbed her soft hand and led her up the stairs.

Paige couldn't help but allow her eyes to wonder their surroundings as they walked outside. She saw the familiar sticky notes and coded messages that Collins always had in his proximity.

After what seemed like a single blink of her eyes, flashing lights, agents and her friends outside surrounded her.

"Ms. Dineen, we have some questions for you." A stern looking agent approached the pair. Luckily, Walter knew now wasn't a good time. He turned around to speak to the agent.

"Paige!" Sylvester and Happy were close by and rapidly reached her side. Her sight was a bit fuzzy, but their presence was appreciated.

She looked down at her hands and noticed the way they shook ever so slightly. She grasped them together, hoping that the others hadn't noticed. She tried to focus her mind on sounds; but all she could hear were sirens and people talking all around her. It was if everyone was speaking a different language and she was immersed in it, unable to understand a word.

One voice however pierced through the fuzz.

The sound caused her head to shoot up and immediately begin searching the crowd that had formed around her.

_Mom_

The voice was distant, yet it persisted.

_Mom_

As it got louder, her heart began to beat faster and her desperation deepened.

_Mom_

He wasn't far. She could see his small physique racing towards her and she couldn't help but move towards him.

"Mom!" Ralph was running as fast as he possibly could. He was so tired and wanted to stop to rest, but once he spotted Paige, he felt reenergized.

With an audience now reaching the three digits, Ralph was mere meet from his mother.

Through the mosaic of colours, Paige could see a huge smile on her son's face and it caused tears to fall from her face.

Within seconds, she could feel her son's warmth in her arms. Less than an hour ago, she was unsure if she would ever see him again, and now they were safe and together. Ignoring sight and sound, she stood still holding her son. He tucked his head into her shoulder as they both silently embraced each other. Breaking the silence, Ralph spoke, "I love you mom."

Although she desperately wanted to, Paige couldn't speak; it was as if she was choking on joy.

She felt a warm hand on her shoulder and looked up. Through the puddles that were forming in her eyes and the rivers flowing down her cheeks, she saw Walter.

Once Ralph noticed him there, he parted from his mother's arms. Immediately and surprisingly, he began hugging Walter.

The sight caused Paige's heart to melt. It reminded her of the first time that Walter had come over to their house and her son connected with him.

"You didn't let anything bad happen to my mom." Ralph spoke quietly to Walter, "Thank you."

Walter made eye contact with Ralph, "I will always take care of the both of you." Ralph and him both smiled.

As one ambulance drove off with sirens blaring, another one approached. Cabe had now made it back to the rest of the team.

One of the new paramedics came to Paige's side.

"We're going to need to check you out." The medic said before noticing the moment that she was interrupting, "But it can wait."

Suddenly, Paige's hand stopped shaking as she felt her son's small hand join hers. Ralph looked up and smiled.

His right hand was in his mom's and his left hand was in Walter's. Paige looked towards Walter and they shared a smile. Walking towards the rest of Team Scorpion, no thoughts consumed Paige's mind… it was silence. In this moment were there was worry, panic and fear… she felt love.

**A/N: So… What did you think? I'd love to know! Also, feel free to comment on your likes/dislikes/ predictions for future chapters! **

**Thank you for Reading/Reviewing!**


	20. Chapter 20

Walter hadn't gotten much sleep over the past several days. Paige and Ralph had been staying at the garage, which put Walter in an awkward sleeping position. He opted to take the couch to allow Paige and Ralph to sleep comfortably in his bed.

Sitting up, Walter placed his hand on his neck. The couch was not as comfortable as his bed and it was too short for him; his head often remained propped up on the arm of the chair all night.

He glanced at his watch; it was three in the morning. Knowing he wouldn't get any sleep, Walter decided to help out with some of Paige's paperwork.

She had insisted she was fine to return to work, but Walter was hesitant. She had shot someone and that doesn't just go away. Grant it, Collins did deserved to be shot.

Even though he was furious at the former member and friend, he was grateful Collins was still alive… for Paige's sake.

As he sat down in her chair, he began rummaging through the piles of paper. Walter was looking for something, _anything_, he could help with. He noticed a folder from a case they worked on two weeks ago and decided he would finish it.

Walter began looking through the drawers for a pen when he couldn't find one on the top of the desk. As he pulled the top drawer open, he noticed an old, wallet sized photo. In the picture, two girls were laughing. The older of the girls was obviously Paige, as he could tell by the familiar smile, brown hair and matching eyes

Walter let out a smile as he looked at the picture. He realized in that moment that the team didn't really know that much about Paige's past. The knew about Ralph and Drew, that she loves holidays, and she didn't finish university, but other than that, she was a bit of a mystery.

Walter made a mental note to ask her about her past as he put the photo back in it's place and began working on the case file.

* * *

"Ralph." Paige called out for her son as she walked down the steps. "Ralph, come on. You don't want to be late for school!"

When Paige reached the bottom of the stairs, she noticed that Walter was holding his neck again.

"Oh gosh Walter. I'm sorry." She said with a light laugh as she approached him. "Ralph and I are going to sleep at our apartment tonight, you need your bed back."

"It's fine." Walter said. He desperately wanted to sleep in his own bed again, but he wanted Ralph and Paige to stay more.

Before Walter realized what was happening, Paige's hands were on his shoulders. "What are you doing?"

"It's the least I can do since Ralph and I are the reason you're neck is stiff."

Walter didn't bother arguing as she gave him a much needed neck rub. Much to Walter's dislike, her hands parted from his neck and she walked over to the stairs.

"Ralph!"

"Coming!" His tiny voice travelled down the stairs and was followed by his body.

"Okay, we're off!" Paige called out, so the others would know the pair was leaving.

"Not so fast!" Toby said with charm as he motioned for Ralph to come over and join himself, Happy and Sylvester.

"Yes, fast!" Paige joked back. She glanced at her watch and bit her bottom lip before continuing in a much quieter tone. "We're going to be late."

"'We're'?" Walter jokingly questioned, "Since when did you enrol in Ralph's school."

Paige's face remained straight for several moments before looking back up at him and smiling.

"Is something wrong?"

"Hm?" She answered, a bit distracted. "No."

"Paige? Is this about what happened with Collins?" Worry laced his words.

_She didn't want to lie to him. _So she chose to avoid the question.

"Everything's fine Walter, there's no need to worry." She smiled genuinely at him, before turning to the other members, "Ralph! It's time to go."

"But mom-"

"No buts, you'll be back right after school. Now come."

As Ralph gathered his stuff, Walter approached Paige once more. "See you in half an hour or so?"

"No not today. I'll be back in a couple of hours."

"Why?" Walter didn't mean to sound nosey, but Paige always came right back to the garage after dropping Ralph off at school.

"Walter," She placed her hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry, I'll be back soon."

"Ready." Ralph stated with little enthusiasm as he approached his mom.

Before Walter could say anything more to Paige, they two were already out the door.

Walter couldn't help but think to himself… _I can't help it, I do worry._

After everything that had happened with Drew and then Collins, Walter couldn't help but feel concerned for their safety. He wondered about what her life was like before they met; he wasn't sure about the details, but he thought it must have been a whole lot easier.

* * *

Paige had dropped Ralph off at school and was hastily walking while checking the time.

As she approached her destination, she slowed her pace; knowing that what she was about to do wasn't easy.

"You're late." The officer looked at the clock then back at Paige.

"I know, I'm sorry. I had to drop my son off at school-" Before she could finish, the officer was beginning to speak.

"It's alright ma'am, I'll just need to see a piece of identification."

"Right," Paige rummaged through her purse to find her driver's licence.

"So you've gone through quite a bit of trouble to get a face to face I hear." He said light-heartedly.

"Yeah." She replied with a nervous smile as she reached for her wallet.

Once the officer was able to check her ID, he opened the hospital door and let her in.

She walked slowly, as the sound of beeping became louder. As she pulled the curtain back, she saw Collins hooked up to a ventilator machine.

He was unconscious but alive.

She took a seat in the chair by the bed and stared at him.

"it's your own fault you're here." She said quietly before immediately closing her mouth.

She blushed; it felt as though she was talking to herself.

She looked at the heart monitor and saw the steady beating of the man's heart.

"You can't expect me to feel bad. I mean don't get me wrong, I did at first. But then I really thought about it and everything that happened was because of the choices that you made."

She sat back in her chair and stared at the bearded man.

Paige couldn't help but feel guilty for shooting him. He was in the wrong, that she was sure of. But at the same time, looking at him all frail and weak made her wonder about what could else have happened.

As she played the memories through her head, she thought about what he did and what he was going to do to her son. Her eyes welled with tears, but she wasn't going to let them fall.

"I don't feel bad for you. You were going to hurt my son."

She stood up and approached him.

"You were going to _hurt_ _my son_."

Without realizing it, Paige had raised her hand and slapped him. She noticed his heart rate spike momentarily and wondered if he could hear her in his comatose state. Immediately, she pulled her stinging hand away from his reddening face and looked around to make sure no one saw.

Once she realized she was in the clear, she leaned down and whispered into his ear.

"If you ever wake up and make it out of this, I never want to see you again. Do not come near me, my son, Walter or any of the team again."

She paused and debated what to say next. After a minute or so of internally weighing her options, she decided to leave it there. She wasn't going to make threats or wish him any more ill will.

"No one hurts _my family_."

And with that, she made her way out the door and headed back to the garage.

* * *

As Paige entered the garage, she saw Happy and Toby sitting on the couch and Sylvester and Walter were in the chairs beside them. They were all chatting together; the sight caused Paige to smile. She recalled how they all used to be in their own spaces never interacting beyond the exchange of a few words.

"You're back!" Walter stated as he jumped up from his chair and walked towards her.

He pulled her to the side, where they could have a bit more privacy. "While you were gone, I was thinking," He folded his arms, "I'm allowed to be worried about you and Ralph. And if I'm curious as to where you're going, I think you should consider telling me."

Walter stood still after having presented the speech he'd obviously rehearsed.

All Paige could do was smile. She loved how he crossed his arms when he was trying to be serious and how he acted like he didn't have feelings when he was actually a sweet guy.

As Paige memorized his facial features, she couldn't help but think about what else she loved about him.

Instantly, her cheeks reddened as a single thought crossed her mind.

_I love him._

"Paige?" Walter's voice caught her attention and brought her back to reality. "So…"

"So?" She replied, confused.

"So are you going to tell me where you where?"

Paige momentarily closed her eyes and braced for the lecture she knew she was about to get.

"I went to see Collins."

A second didn't go by before Walter was enthusiastically expressing his concern.

"Paige! Why would you go see him? Why wouldn't you take me with you?"

"Because this was something that I had to do on my own."

It took a minute for the words to sink in.

"Oh, okay." It was evident that she unintentionally hurt him.

"Listen," she said as she placed her hand on his arm, "I needed to do this by myself. But not everything needs to be done alone. And when the time comes for someone to join me, you know I'll pick you."

She lightly squeezed his arm and headed for the couch. Walter stood frozen in place, staring at the brunette. He watched her, thinking to himself how lucky he was that she and her son had joined his family.

**A/N: S****ince it's a holiday weekend, I was thinking of posting an extra chapter! Let me know if you would like that!**

**Thank you for Reading and Reviewing!**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: As promised… here is another chapter! I hope you enjoy!**

The garage was quiet and the team had been doing their individual research and projects all morning. To any of the geniuses, today was a normal day. It was average; the sun was shining and there was a light breeze. It wasn't too hot and it wasn't too cold.

But for the Dineens, particularity Paige, today wasn't just any other day… Today was Easter.

The idea of a bunny hopping around leaving chocolates made the geniuses a tad uncomfortable. Paige knew that Walter and the others would be tough to crack, but that was her mission of the day.

Cabe had given them the day off from work, much to Walter's dismay. He didn't understand why their services wouldn't be needed because a certain day of the year was given a title. Not to mention, Cabe had to work for the majority of the day, so Walter was a tad jealous.

Paige on the other hand, couldn't have been more thrilled. She had asked the team to stay upstairs for an hour and distract Ralph, not like that was a challenge for them. They were so enthralled in their work; they barely heard Paige coming up the stairs.

"Guess who paid Scorpion a visit?" She said with enthusiasm.

When none of the geniuses noticed her standing there, she coughed unrealistically and repeated herself in a louder tone.

"Ralph! You had a visitor!"

Ralph looked up from his equations and turned to face Walter.

"What is she talking about?" Walter whispered.

"It's Easter." He replied.

"Yes! It's Easter! So come see who dropped by!" Paige ran over to Sylvester and forced him up. "Come on! Oh isn't it exciting!"

The smile on Paige's face was gigantic and it was evident she was more than thrilled about the day.

"I still don't get it." Walter said flat toned.

"Walter," She said shooting him a knowing look, "The Easter bunny dropped by!" She bit her bottom lip in excitement.

"She's not serious is she?" Happy asked Toby.

"I'm reading genuine excitement, so I'm going to say yes, she's being serious."

"You know that East-"

Paige cut Walter off before he could go any further.

"Today is Easter and we are going to celebrate. It's almost noon, so after the Easter egg hunt I will start cooking dinner. Speaking of, Happy, would you care to help?"

"Do I have-"

Toby nudged her in the side, "She would love to." He answered for Happy.

"Perfect! It'll be fun I promise!" Paige exclaimed enthusiastically. "Toby and Sylvester can start the craft table-"

"Craft table?" Toby's voice came out full of amusement and disbelief.

"Yes, after the Easter egg hunt, you guys can set up the space for dying eggs. We'll use a bunch of different colors and patterns!"

"Is that even sanitary?" Sylvester chimed in.

Paige inhaled deeply. It was going to be difficult to get them all on board.

"Come on guys, it's tradition! Ralph and I look forward to this all year long. Please."

"Where do we start?" Walter was the first to get up. He took Ralph's hand as they approached Paige.

She grinned gleefully at the duo.

"Fine, what's the game plan?" Happy questioned as she, Toby and Sylvester joined the rest of the group.

"Here you go." Paige reached behind her and passed out three Easter baskets. We go in teams of two. "Ralph, you look like you want to partner up with Walter. Happy and Toby can pair up, and Sylvester and I will form the last group."

"But you know where the eggs are hidden." Sylvester objected.

She shot him a _Quiet!_ look, as if Ralph didn't know she had hidden the eggs. "No, the Easter bunny did."

She took a step closer to Sylvester and whispered, "I won't help."

"Statistically, I'm at a disadvantage now, which isn't-"

"Oh gosh Sylvester! I was trying to surprise you." Paige looked amused. "Go downstairs."

Without answering, Sylvester walked to the stairwell and saw Megan standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"Happy Easter Sly."

"Megan?" Sylvester was overjoyed to see the woman at the garage as he descended the stairs to join her.

As Walter noticed the commotion, he turned to Paige. "You brought my sister?"

"I hope that's okay?" She asked, beginning to worry that she had upset him.

Walter didn't answer, he just smiled at her.

"It is a holiday after all. You should have your family here."

"Thank you."

Paige mouthed _you're welcome_ as the team headed down the stairs.

"Okay, so when I say 'Go!' you can start searching for hidden Easter eggs! And remember not to eat too many Ralph, we don't want a repeat of last year."

The boy began to blush as he looked up at his mom.

"I'm not the mathematician here, but Paige, you don't have a team." Toby interjected.

"That's okay," She stated pleasantly, "I'll watch."

"Join our team." Walter said without hesitation. "Please."

"Okay." She said as a grin filled her face.

The team spent the next hour searching for the strategically hidden Easter eggs. Toby and Happy were strangely competitive, considering they were on the same team. Sylvester and Megan went slow and steady, spending most of their time talking rather than searching for chocolates. Walter and Paige were amazed at how excited Ralph got when he found a tiny chocolate egg.

After the search was over, Walter and Ralph sat on the couch and started eating their chocolates. Sylvester and Toby got the craft table set up; Sylvester made Toby handle all the eggs. Paige, Happy and Megan were in the kitchen, but Paige was the only one doing any real cooking.

Megan was resting while Happy tried to decrease the amount of pressure the braces placed on Megan's legs while she fiddled with the metal pieces.

"It smells good." Megan commented. "You'll have to teach me the recipe one day."

"I'd really like that," Paige turned around and shared a grateful look with Walter's sister.

"We're all set up over here!" Toby shouted.

"Excellent!" Paige instructed everyone to take a seat around the table where the crafts had been set up.

As the team sat together, the garage was filled with laughter. Walter was sitting with Paige on one side and Ralph on the other. He couldn't help but think he was the luckiest man in the world.

He didn't know why, but he was beginning to really enjoy Easter.

When Ralph's head dropped slightly, Walter immediately noticed. "Hey bud, is everything okay?"

"I don't feel so good." The young boy stated.

"Oh Ralph." Paige had noticed her son's composure as well. "How many chocolate eggs did you eat?"

"Three."

"Ralph." She asked again, knowing he had eaten more than three.

"Three to the power of three." He answered.

Walter's eyes widened, "Ralph, you ate twenty-seven chocolate eggs?"

Rather than responding with words, the boy just nodded.

"Twenty-seven!" Paige questioned, "Walter, weren't you watching how many he was eating?"

Walter's head then dropped slightly and he avoided eye contact with Paige.

Paige found the scene humorous but didn't want to let them know that. "Well then you're going to have to take Ralph to lie down."

"Okay," he replied, knowing that he should have been restricting how much chocolate Ralph was eating.

Walter and Ralph left the craft table.

"I'll go make sure it's just a stomach ache." Toby offered as he left the table to join them upstairs.

A couple minutes after they headed upstairs, there was a knocking at the side door to the garage.

"Is Cabe off work already?" Happy asked.

"He told me he'd be here by dinner." Paige replied.

"He's early." Sylvester said while taking note of the time.

"It's open!" Happy yelled to the door. None of them wanted to get up, as they were all busy dying their eggs.

The group heard footsteps approaching.

"Paige?" The man's voice was kind, but it wasn't Cabe's.

Happy noticed how Paige's pupils slightly dilated at the sound of the voice. She began to worry, but it quickly faded when the sides of Paige's mouth curved upwards.

"Paige?" The man said again.

With the confirmation of the voice, Paige immediately stood up from the table and quickly approached the man.

"Matt?"

"Hi Paige. Its good to see you again."

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed the Easter themed chapter! **

**Thank you for Reading/Reviewing!**


	22. Chapter 22

"_Paige?" The man said again._

_At the confirmation of the voice, Paige immediately stood up from the table and quickly approached the man._

_"Matt?"_

_"Hi Paige. It's good to see you again."_

* * *

Walter was upstairs tucking Ralph in when he heard the door to the garage open. He turned his head, curious as to who was at the door.

"I got Ralph." Toby said, implying that Walter could go see who it was.

As Walter walked to the stairwell, he heard people speaking. As he got to the top of the stairs, he saw a tall man with dark brown hair and a strong build standing in the middle of the garage.

He could see Paige approaching him. They seemed to have shared a word or two and as Walter began walking down the stairs, he saw Paige rapidly approach the man. Within seconds, she was hugging him and he had his arms wrapped around her.

Walter froze in place, unable to read the situation that was occurring on the floor below.

"Who's that?" Toby asked as he walked by Walter on the stairs on his way back to Happy.

Walter didn't respond. He just stood staring at the pair.

* * *

"Matt, what are you doing here?" Paige joyfully questioned once they broke their embrace.

"I came to see you."

"It- it's really good to see you." Tears formed in her eyes as she fully took in the moment and realized that he was really standing in front of her. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too." He began looking around his surroundings, "you've done really well for yourself." He said with a smile of pride.

"This is Scorpion. Here, come over." Paige guided him to the table where her comrades were sitting. They were trying to figure out who 'Matt' was. "This is Happy, Sylvester, Megan, Toby, and Wal- Where's Walter." Paige turned around and saw Walter slowly coming towards the group. His face was stiff and Toby recognized the defensive stance.

"This is going to be good." Toby whispered to Happy.

"Walter, this is Matt. Matt, this is Walter." Matt put his hand out, waiting for Walter to shake it.

Only Walter had no intention of shaking the man's hand; not until he figured out who he was.

"Walter." Paige said while giving him a stern look.

Walter separated his folded arms and reluctantly put his hand out to shake the man's hand and while doing so, introduced himself. "I'm Walter O'Brien. Founder of Scorpion. I have been here with Paige for the past several months and I've never heard of you."

Matt looked at Paige and she began to blush. As soon as Paige realized what Walter was doing, she couldn't help but let out a giggle.

"Well, I'll try not to take that personally," the man responded, "I'm Matt. Matthew Dineen. I'm Paige's cousin."

As soon as the word _cousin _left his lips, Walter visibly relaxed. He also realized that he was making a poor first impression… Walter was never good at first impressions.

"Oh… Well… it's a pleasure to meet you." He replied while noticing Paige who looked completely amused.

"It's good to meet you too." Matt replied.

"So," Toby smoothly walked over, "if you're Paige's cousin, I bet you have some great stories. Please, sit."

As Toby tried to get some embarrassing stories out of Paige's cousin, Walter tried to avoid eye contact with the brunette.

"What was that?" Paige asked with laughter lacing her voice.

"What was what?" Walter replied.

"That whole 'macho man' thing you had going on."

"I don't know what you're referring to." He answered with a side smile.

"Uh-huh." Paige giggled again as she glanced down at her watch, "Darn!"

"What is it?"

"I was supposed to drop by the bakery, the owner said he'd let me come by and pick up my Easter rolls."

"Your what?"

"Easter rolls, they're rolls that look like bunnies. Have you really never heard of them?"

Walter shook his head; apparently, he wasn't well versed in specialized holiday foods.

"Okay, well I have to drop by the bakery now." Paige said as she grabbed her coat.

"I'll come with you." Walter offered.

"No it's okay. Can you stay here in case Ralph needs you?"

"Sure." Walter replied.

"Matt, do you want to come?" Paige questioned.

"He's good!" Toby replied for him.

"Okay…" She seemed hesitant about leaving her cousin there alone with them. "I'll be back in 20 minutes."

As Paige grabbed her keys and headed out the door, Walter walked back to the group. He was interested to learn more about Paige… embarrassing stories and all.

After several minutes of overwhelming questions by Toby and Happy, the group dispersed. Sylvester and Megan went to relax on the couch, Happy and Toby went off somewhere and Matt and Walter stayed to clean up the table and get it ready for dinner.

After clearing his throat several times, Walter decided to speak up. He thought about what Paige would say. "So about before… sorry about that. I thought-"

"You thought I was trying to steal your girl?" He asked with humour.

"What? No, I-"

"Dude, spare me. I know that something's going on between you two." He put the paper towel in the trash as he turned towards Walter. "It's cool. She deserved some happiness in her life… and you seem like a good guy."

"So where have you been?" Walter asked, sceptical of the man's sudden reappearance.

When he didn't reply, Walter thought he must have offended him.

"I just mean. Uh… you seem like a nice person as well. Paige is obviously fond of you. I am just wondering why I have never heard of you."

"Well…" Matt seemed uncomfortable with the question. Walter should have told him to forget he asked, but he was curious so he waited for an answer. "I haven't seen Paige in years."

"Why?" Walter questioned, trying not to sound too nosey.

"You'd have to ask her." He replied with a side smile, before his face formed into a sad expression. "After the fire, she pretty much lost all contact with us. I mean I get it, she needed space, we just never thought she'd completely disappear."

Scenarios ran through Walter's head.

_What fire?_

_Why has she never said anything about it?_

Before more questions could fill the genius' mind, Matt continued speaking. "I get an email from her every couple of months. But when I saw on the news that Drew Baker had been arrested for assault, I knew something was wrong. I tried to get here sooner, but Paige is one hard woman to find when she doesn't want to be."

_Doesn't want to be? _

Walter's mind was becoming consumed with questions. He wasn't just curious about Paige, he was worried about her.

As Walter opened his mouth to ask him more questions, the door to the garage swung open.

"I'm back!" Paige exclaimed joyfully and she carried in a large box, presumably with baked goods.

Walter watched from a distance as she approached the others and showed off the bunny shaped buns. Sylvester admired their symmetrical shape and Happy examined their accuracy.

When she was done showing off the goods, she made her way back to the kitchen. On her way, she spotted Walter and gave him a smile.

Walter returned the gesture, but he couldn't stop wondering about her past.

**A/N: So, what did you think? If there are enough people interested, I can try to get another chapter out by the end of the weekend. Let me know!**

**Thank you all so much for Reading/Reviewing!**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N : I am so flattered that so many people wanted another chapter! I hope no one is disappointed with it! **

"Dinner's ready!" Paige called out. In doing so, tiny footsteps made their way down the stairs. "Ralph, honey, how are you feeling?"

The boy walked straight into the kitchen. "Better."

Paige smiled at her son's improvement. "Good. Do you want to try eating some dinner? It might be helpful to get some real food in you."

"Okay." He said as he took at seat at the table. Walter went over to the sink and got the boy a glass of water. After placing it on the table, he sat down beside him.

"You must be Ralph." Matt said as he approached the boy. He knelt down and smiled, "I'm Matt, you're mom's cousin."

Ralph looked towards Walter; he gave the boy a reassuring look.

"Hi." Ralph replied.

Matt didn't seem upset by the boy's lack of enthusiasm, so Walter concluded that Paige must have told him about Ralph in her sparse emails.

Matt smiled at the duo and moved to take a seat closer to Toby and Happy, who were still reeling with questions.

The other members followed. Before they were all seated, the door to the garage opened.

"I'm here!" Cabe entered the room with a large chocolate Easter bunny. "I have a present for you Ralph."

Ralph's eyes widened and a smile consumed his face as he spotted the gigantic animal shaped chocolate treat.

"Not a chance you're getting at that tonight." Paige said amused as she kissed her son on the head. She was always amazed with his resiliency.

When Cabe noticed the extra man at the table, he put his hand out. "I'm Agent Cabe Gallo of Homeland Security."

The man smiled, and put his hand out as well, "Hi, I'm Paige's cousin, Matt."

Much like Walter's reaction, Cabe softened his expression, "In that case, you can call me Cabe."

After returning the smile, Cabe looked at Paige. He seemed to know something that the others didn't.

* * *

After the feast had ended and stomachs were full, the group separated.

"Thank you for having me." Matt stated politely as he placed his napkin on his empty plate, "But I think I should head over to my hotel. It's getting late."

Toby didn't hide the frown that consumed his facial features. He had only heard several embarrassing stories about Paige as a child and he was desperate for more.

"You can stay at my apartment." Paige offered as she too finished her dinner.

"Thanks Cous, but I don't want to impose any more than I already have. I'll drop by later on to see you guys though?"

"Absolutely."

As Matt got up from the table, Cabe and Walter both stood up to shake the man's hand. Toby and the others waved and Paige walked him to the door. Walter watched them interact. He saw her give him a hug as they exchanged several words. He noticed her wipe a tear from her face as her cousin headed out the door. Walter quickly turned around when he saw Paige making her way back to the table.

Sylvester offered to go back to the center with Megan, who had to be back by midnight. Once the two of them left, Happy informed the crowd that she would be heading out as well and not a minute later, Toby had his hat and coat on.

"Ready?" He asked with his not-so-secret charm.

"What are you doing Doc?"

"You're leaving, so I will grab the door for you ma'lady." Toby gave her a wide smile and held the door open for her.

To the team's surprise, Happy didn't say any sarcastic comment in return to the genius' remark. Instead, she just shyly smiled and head out the door.

Back at the table, Paige was about to start cleaning up, when Ralph let out a loud yawn.

"Ralph are you sleepy?" Paige asked as she looked down at her watch. She couldn't believe it, it was almost eleven-thirty.

As her son yawned again, she picked him up into her arms and looked around the room. She had too much to clean up, so she couldn't go home. But Ralph needed to sleep.

"He can use my room." Walter's voice broke Paige's train of thought.

"Are you sure?" She whispered, trying not to wake the boy who had just fallen asleep in her arms. "I don't want to make you sleep on the couch again."

"It's okay, Ralph needs sleep." Walter stood up and approached the two. As he ran his hand through Ralph's hair, he began to whisper, "You two go rest and we'll take care of the clean up."

"Thank you." Paige whispered back and she lightly touched Walter's arm. She gave him a smile, then headed for the stairs.

Cabe stood up and began stacking plates on top of one another. Walter grabbed the utensils and threw away all the garbage.

"What do you know about Paige's cousin?" Walter asked flat out.

"What?" Cabe questioned in return, unclear of what Walter was referring to.

"When Matthew introduced himself as Paige's cousin, you had a look on your face."

"I didn't know you were so astute Walter, isn't that Toby's domain?" He asked jokingly.

When Walter didn't laugh or even crack a smile, Cabe could tell that the genius was genuinely concerned.

"I had Homeland do a background check on Paige after you offered her a job."

Walter's face stiffened.

"Listen son, I had to make sure that she wasn't a threat to national security if she was going to become a protected asset. It wasn't personal, just protocol."

Walter slightly nodded his head. "What did the background check say?"

"Nothing that indicates she's a threat."

"What else did it say? It clearly said something about her family, considering the way you looked at her after her cousin introduced himself."

Walter was becoming impatient; he could tell that Cabe wasn't telling him everything.

"Kid," Cabe placed his hand on Walter's shoulder, "It's not my place to spill about other people's past. If you want to know, you'll have to ask her."

Walter nodded and headed for the stairs. But before he could take more than three steps, Cabe was speaking to him in a serious tone.

"But Walter, if you're going to ask, you have to be prepared to handle the answer. You can't shut down, especially if she needs you to be there for her."

Walter's face held an expression of confusion.

Cabe returned to clean up the remaining mess and Walter stood silently staring at the stairwell. He wasn't sure if he could handle whatever Paige was going to tell him on an emotional scale. Simultaneously, he also worried that he wouldn't be able to be there for her in the way he so desperately wanted to be.

Before any more thoughts of worry could make there way into Walter's mind, his eyes caught sight of Paige walking down the stairs.

Walter's mouth got ahead of his brain as he immediately spoke to her, "Paige, can we talk?"

She stopped midway down the stairs, and let her eyelids close.

She knew this was going to happen. It was inevitable that Walter would find out, especially when Matt was left here alone and might let anything slip.

"Sure." She replied, desperately wanting the conversation to end before it even began.

**A/N : I hoped everyone liked the chapter! I'd love to know your thoughts!**

**Thanks for Reading/Reviewing!**


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N : The last two scenes of "Cliffhanger" were very depressing… So I hope this chapter will make up for it! Enjoy!**

Paige and Walter sat side by side in complete silence. Cabe had already finished cleaning up and headed home. The garage was quiet, except for the light buzzing of the Scorpion sign.

"Walter?" Paige asked quietly. It was clear that he was struggling with finding a way to speak. "I think I'm going to go check on Ralph."

Her words caused Walter's attention to be pulled back towards Paige.

"Please, we need to talk." Walter looked at her with a concerned expression on his face.

"We've been sitting here for nearly an hour Walter… and you haven't said anything." Paige gave him a sympathetic smile.

She wanted to avoid the impending conversation.

"I-" Walter nodded his head once, then turned and made direct eye contact with the woman sitting next to him. It was clear that he had decided how to best approach the situation.

"I spoke with Matthew."

No other words had to leave his lips for Paige to know what was coming.

"What did he say?" Paige asked.

"He wouldn't really say much." Walter noticed how Paige visibly relaxed. "But one thing he did say has me very… um… concerned."

What he should have said was panicked, worried, and fearful.

Paige didn't respond. She just shifted in her seat. Walter found it strange she was already fighting back tears.

"He said something about a fire?" Walter spoke quietly; in a way he hoped it would lessen the blow.

It didn't.

Without realizing it, Paige let a stream of tears flow down her cheek. Walter became angered with himself.

_Why would I ask? _

_I shouldn't have brought it up. _

_It's not my business. _

Walter's thoughts were stopped when he felt warmth on his hand. He looked down and saw Paige's hand resting on top of his own. The sensation was electric. She and others had touched his hand before, but something about this time was different.

He stared at her hand for a while, until he saw a tiny, clear teardrop fall and rest on her soft skin.

He looked up at her.

"Paige. I'm sorry I shouldn't have asked." Walter turned his head away from her.

He couldn't stand to see her cry. He wanted to make it stop, but he didn't know how.

"No, I'm glad you did." She too spoke quietly.

Walter looked back at her, confused.

"I-" She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat, "I've never talked about it with anyone."

Walter didn't dare say anything; he just sat, listening to her.

"I, um, when I was in college, _something_ happened and I just couldn't handle it. So I dropped out, moved and didn't keep in touch with anyone. I wanted too. They wanted too. But I just couldn't. I used to be close with Matt and my aunt and uncle, but I couldn't bear it after… _everything_."

Falling tears accompanied her words. Walter had no idea what to do, so he just held her hand.

"I was out with friends one night, and when I got home, there were police cars and fire trucks parked along the street. They had a blockade up and weren't letting people through. I remember thinking to myself how I hoped it didn't wake my sister up, because it was late and she had an exam the next morning. I got out of my friend's car and I remember seeing smoke and flames coming from one of the houses."

Paige closed her eyes for a moment before continuing.

"It was my house."

Walter didn't need to be a genius to know what that meant. He would have told her to stop. But he got the feeling that she needed to talk to someone about it.

"So I ran passed the blockade… I just kept running. There were no ambulances blaring, and no one except me was screaming… and I knew what that meant. I don't remember much except seeing the flames and feeling my cheeks being soaked by tears. One of the police officers grabbed me and held me back from the burning house. He told me that an electrical shortage caused the fire and there was no way anyone could have lived through it."

She cupped her head in her hands and let more tears fall.

"Oh, Paige… I'm sorry." Walter whispered and placed his hand on her back. "I had no idea. Your sister… is she the other girl in the picture that's in your desk drawer?" Walter remembered seeing the two girls in the photo.

After several minutes of silence between the pair, she looked up at him. "Yes." She didn't ask him about why he was looking through her drawers, she was just relieved that she wasn't carrying the weight of her past alone anymore.

"Why haven't you told anyone about this?" Walter questioned.

Silence consumed them once again.

"Paige?"

No response.

"Paige?"

"Because Walter!" Her voice had escalated into an upset tone. She gazed into his glistening eyes and lowered her voice, "Because I feel so guilty."

"Guilty?" Walter couldn't fathom a situation in which Paige should feel guilty. "Why do you feel guilty? It wasn't your fault Paige."

"I shouldn't be alive Walter."

The words caused his heart to sink into his chest. The thought of Paige not being alive caused an internal discomfort… Walter didn't know what he would do if she and Ralph weren't there anymore.

"I was supposed to be in that house too. It's not fair that I lived and they didn't."

Walter's eyes widened as he realized that Paige hadn't shared this with anyone because she genuinely believed that she should have died too.

"Don't ever say that." Walter's voice was stern.

Paige looked at him with her eyebrows furrowed.

_Why is he mad?_

What Paige didn't realize was that her words were causing terrible scenarios to run through Walter's head.

"Don't ever say that you shouldn't have lived."

She didn't reply, she just stared at him with wide teary eyes.

"If you hadn't lived, Ralph wouldn't be here either. You and your incredible son would never have met Scorpion, and this family wouldn't have been complete. You have done so much for all of us… me especially."

Paige wiped the remaining tears from her face. She hadn't seen Walter open up that much and it gave her hope.

"I'm here." Walter reassured her, remembering what Cabe had told him about making sure he was ready to be there for her. "You can count on me."

For the first time in a long time, Walter felt confident that he would be able to be there for someone on an emotional scale. He wasn't sure how good he was going be at it, but he knew that he was never going to stop trying.

When she didn't respond, Walter was concerned, "Paige?"

"I don't rely on other people, Walter." She gave him a small smile, appreciative of his compassion, "After what happened to my family, and then Drew leaving us when Ralph was just a baby… I've come to not rely on anyone except myself."

Walter nodded.

"But I'm not Drew." He said simply, "I hope you know that I would never hurt you or Ralph."

"I know that." She smiled at him and placed her hand on his cheek, "I do know that."

Their eyes locked and they just stared at one another for what seemed like hours. They were the same distance apart as they had been all night, but they both felt undeniable warmth overcome them.

"I should go." Paige spoke softly.

"Okay." Walter replied, without breaking eye contact.

Minutes passed and no one moved.

"I don't want to go." She spoke again in a barely audible tone.

"Good… I don't want you to go." Walter lifted his hands to her face and felt a shiver run up his spine as his hands touched her soft skin.

Paige bit her bottom lip. She had been waiting for this, and from what she could tell, Walter had too.

His face slowly approached hers and her eyelids fluttered closed; she allowed her sense of touch to tell her the story of what was happening. She could feel his warm breath against her skin. He stayed a short distance from her lips for a minute, allowing their hearts to speed up and synchronize.

Without warning, she felt his lips touch hers and both their worries dissipated into the empty space around them.

**A/N: I debated not doing the kiss yet, I didn't want to rush it - but it has been 24 chapters and I thought it was a good time. Let me know what you thought!**

**Thank you for Reading/Reviewing!**


	25. Chapter 25

It had been a week since Paige opened up about her past to Walter. Neither of them could stop thinking about the kiss they shared. She remembered falling asleep in his arms and feeling peaceful.

Her body tingled as she recalled him tracing circles on her palm as she dozed off. Her memory felt like a dream; part of her wasn't sure if it had really happened.

What she didn't know was that Walter hadn't slept at all that night. It wasn't because he was uncomfortable; his heart was racing too fast for him to fall asleep. He spent the rest of the night with her head on his shoulder. He just stared at her and took in the moment.

He wasn't analyzing the situation, or running calculations in his head. He was just living in the moment. Walter considered it one of the only times in his life where he truly felt normal.

Since that night, Matt had returned home and things at Scorpion were beginning to fall back into their normal rhythm.

Lately however, there was something else on Walter's mind. He couldn't stop thinking about what Paige had told him… something didn't feel right.

Walter was sitting at his desk with his mind running on full speed when Paige found herself leaning against the wall staring at him. Her thoughts were cut off when Toby walked over and joined her.

"What happened with you and Walter?" Toby said as he lightly nudged Paige in the side.

"What?" She replied, knowing she was a bad liar. "Nothing."

"The reddening shade of your face tells me otherwise." Toby tipped his hat towards her as he gave her a mischievous smile.

Paige avoided eye contact, which told Toby everything he needed to know.

"Wait, you and Walt did what?" Happy quickly approached the two as she caught wind of the conversation.

Sylvester followed, now he was curious.

"We didn't do anything." Paige lied again; she didn't want to spill before her and Walter decided what to do about their encounter.

"Yeah right." Happy chimed in.

"My bet is they shared an intimate moment." Toby said in a fake-romantic voice.

"Yup, that's probable." Sylvester added.

"What? Why is that probable?" Paige was curious if everyone knew about her feelings for Walter.

"Well, you two have been through a lot together. He has a connection with Ralph, which is important for any relationship a single mother gets into. Not to mention you both have been walking around with hearts in your eyes for the past week, not literally of course. Oh and-"

"Okay, okay," Paige cut him off, "I get it, I'm crappy at hiding my feelings."

"You both are." Toby stated before he and the other geniuses left Paige to her thoughts.

His words caused Paige to blush as her mind went back to their kiss.

"Mom." Ralph looked up at Paige. He didn't say anything, he just held up his wrist and let his mom read the time.

"Oh, we better get going!" Paige exclaimed as she realized that Ralph had to get to school. "We're off!"

Ralph went to say goodbye to the others as Paige once again found herself staring at Walter.

Walter caught sight of Paige staring at him. They shared a smile before they heard Cabe enter through the side door.

"I'll be back soon." Paige said as she and Ralph headed outside.

"See ya later kiddo." Cabe called out.

As the door shut, Walter stood up and walked over to Cabe.

"How much do you know about Paige's past?" Walter questioned.

"Everything."

If Walter had been better at reading people, he would have noticed the expression that momentarily passed Cabe's face; he was showing signs of guilt.

"I need you to do something for me."

"What's that?" Cabe questioned.

"I need you to look into something."

"What do you need me for? You have a room full of geniuses who could dig up way more than me."

"I can't ask them because they don't know about Paige's past. And I can't do it myself because they'll find out if I use the software here."

"I can try, what is it?" Cabe's face stiffened.

"Paige told me about the fire, and something isn't right about it."

Cabe still didn't respond. Walter took that as a sign he needed to further explain himself.

"She said that a police officer told her that an electrical shortage caused the fire. But there's no way that he could have known that without having an investigation conducted. And there's no way an investigation happened yet because the fire was still burning."

Walter was confident that there was more to the story, and he needed Cabe's help to figure it out.

"Maybe she remembered it wrong," Cabe said in a professional voice, "It was a traumatic experience. She might just be confused."

Walter was confused by Cabe's impersonal response.

"No, that's not it. She has vivid memories from that night. There's more to that fire than she realizes."

Cabe furrowed his eyebrows but didn't say a word.

"I'm going to figure out what really happened."

"Don't."

"What?"

"Just let it go Walter."

"Let it go?" Walter asked with anger lacing his voice, "I'm not going to let this go. What aren't you telling me?"

Cabe didn't respond, which only infuriated Walter.

"Cabe!" Walter's voice caused the other members to look towards the duo.

Cabe grabbed Walters arm and pulled them out of earshot, so the others couldn't listen in.

"You can't go looking into that fire Walter." Cabe's voice was stern.

"Why not?" He wanted, rather he _needed_ to know.

"It's not safe for anyone involved."

"What are you talking about?" Walter folded his arms in front of his chest.

"Listen, son, if you go looking into this before it's time, you could be putting both Paige and Ralph's life in danger."

Walter held his lips together in his classic frustrated facial expression.

"What do you mean by 'before it's time'?"

Before Cabe could reply, the door opened and Paige entered.

"What did I miss?" She asked with a smile on her face.

"Nothing at all." Cabe replied as he returned the gesture and headed towards the rest of the team.

Walter didn't know what to say; he couldn't lie so he just stared at her.

"Is everything okay?" Paige asked with concern lining her words.

Walter just nodded his head and stiffly followed Cabe's path.

Paige followed with confusion seeping from her every feature.

**A/N: So… what did you think!? I will try to get the next chapter posted by the weekend!**

**Thank you for Reading/Reviewing!**


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: Sorry for the late update! I have just finished exams so I will be back to updating more regularly! I hope you enjoy the chapter! **

Walter had been on edge for the past two days. He and Paige hadn't had a meaningful conversation since he spoke to Cabe.

Walter was afraid that if he got too close to Paige, that he would say something about what Cabe had told him. He wasn't sure if he should tell her. He wanted too, but he didn't want to put her and Ralph in danger.

Walter was watching Paige from across the room and desperately wanted to go stand by her. Being out of her proximity made Walter feel isolated and cold.

"What did you do to screw it up this time?" Toby questioned with disappointment as he sat down beside Walter.

"Huh?" Walter asked. His mind was still circling from what Cabe had said, he was barely aware of his surroundings.

"A couple days ago, you and Paige were all sunshine and roses and now you're stiff and departed from the group." Toby looked at Walter who looked saddened by Toby's words. "She's hurt you know… that you're separating yourself from her."

Walter turned his head to looked back towards Paige. Simultaneously, Paige happened to turn her head and was now looking directly at Walter.

For the past two days, Walter had immediately turned his head away when they made eye contact. But today, he couldn't stop himself from staring at her.

_She does look sad._

As the thought crossed his mind, he noticed that she was walking towards him with two cups of coffee in her hand. He immediately shifted in his seat.

"Okay, well I'm going to go." Toby announced before he whispered to Walter, "Don't screw this up."

Toby tipped his hat at Paige as he walked by her. She gave him a small smile before sitting down next to Walter and handing him a cup of coffee.

The silence between them was unbearable.

Walter looked down at the coffee that Paige had brought him, but couldn't bring himself to drink it.

"I'm sorry." Paige was the first to speak.

Her words caught Walter off guard. After a minute of silence, Paige continued.

"I shouldn't have told you about the fire and we shouldn't have kissed."

"Paige-" Before he had a chance to continue, she was already beginning to speak. As her words passed her lips, Paige's eyes remained directed at her coffee cup; she couldn't bring herself to look at Walter.

"I shouldn't have put you in that situation. I don't want this to impact the team, or your relationship with Ralph." It was clear that she had rehearsed her speech as she fought back tears.

"No, Paige. I'm glad you told me. It's something else…" Walter stopped himself.

"What are you talking about?" She asked, confused. Paige was certain that his behaviour was because of their intimate encounter.

"It's not about the kiss… I… I enjoyed it… very much in fact." They both blushed slightly at his statement.

The smile that had momentarily consumed Walter's face disappeared as he once again began to speak.

"I haven't been myself lately because I'm just not sure… I want to tell you, I just don't know if I can, or if I should…" Walter stuttered through his thoughts.

"Okay? But what does this have to do with me? Why are you shutting me out?" Paige felt desperation; she wanted to know what was coming between them.

Walter closed his eyes for a moment.

Before he could debate telling her, he heard his name being called from across the room.

"Walter!" Cabe had just come downstairs and saw the two talking. "A moment please." It was more of a statement then a question.

"I'll be right back." Walter said to Paige as he got up and walked towards Cabe.

"Let's go." Cabe directed towards Walter as he headed out the door.

Walter followed.

"Where are we going?" He questioned as they both got in the van.

"Were you going to tell her?"

"I'm not sure." Walter answered honestly.

"Then we're going somewhere where I can tell you the truth. Maybe if you understand that it's not time yet, you will keep your mouth shut."

Cabe remained silent and Walter just sat there, waiting for them to reach their destination.

Before they could get far, Cabe's phone started beeping.

"Can you check that for me?" He asked, knowing better than to text while driving.

Walter reached for the phone and read out the message.

_To receive your requested updates on Project Flame, please enter your assigned access code._

"Type back 07-A84-Y29" Cabe ordered.

Walter typed in the code and within seconds, another message appeared on the screen.

_Agent Gallo, the __**Time Has Passed**__. _

_HQ didn't send out notifications._

_It's all over the news._

"Crap!" Cabe stated in a panicked tone as he swiftly turned the car around.

"What is it?" Walter questioned.

"You know how I said we had to wait until it was time?"

"Yes."

"Well, it's time now. Call Paige."

Walter dialled Paige's number and waiting for her to pick up. "It's busy."

Cabe looked infuriated. "HQ screws up and now she's going to find out."

"What's going on Cabe?" Walter questioned.

"I didn't want it to happen this way." Cabe stated. Without attempting to answer Walter's question, he sped down the road and headed towards the garage.

* * *

Paige looked down at her phone and saw that she had three missed calls and several text messages from Matt. She must have forgotten to take her phone off silent.

'Paige, I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you.'

As she read the first message, her phone began to ring. It was Matt.

"Hello."

"Paige, I'm so sorry. I wanted to tell you, I just didn't know how."

Matt was talking so fast, that Paige couldn't do anything but listen.

"It wasn't safe for you to know, and it killed us to not be able to tell you."

"Matt?" Paige interrupted. She was beginning to worry as the sound of his voice turned tragically apologetic.

"That's why I came to see you. I wanted to tell you, I just couldn't find the right time. You seemed happy, you were in a good place and I wasn't sure if that agent from Homeland had already told you-"

"Agent Cabe Gallo?"

"Yes. Paige, I'm sorry. Just please try to remember we were trying to protect you."

Paige's voice began to shake, "Matt! What are you talking about?"

"Turn on the news…"

Instinctively, she grabbed the remote and turned on the television.

_Jurors and people in the gallery were shocked this afternoon when a surprise witness was brought to the stand in the trial of Vince Dawson. Dawson is being charged with financial fraud, but is linked to crimes ranging from weapons abuse to first degree murder._

_A source from inside the courtroom this afternoon informed journalists that the surprise witness has been under the protection of Homeland Security for the past decade. _

Paige hung up the phone and continued watching the news, although she was unsure of why Matt was insistent on her watching it. She leaned back, took a sip of coffee and continued watching. The name 'Dawson' sounded familiar to her, but she brushed it off.

_It's a popular name. _She thought to herself.

When a cartoon drawing of the surprise witness appeared on the screen, Paige sat up. The man looked familiar.

She found herself walking towards the television, with shaking hands. She squinted her eyes at the photo, trying to place the familiar face.

The other members of the team noticed her uneasy composure and made their way towards her. Simultaneously, the side door opened and Walter and Cabe raced in. They froze when they saw her watching the screen.

_Prosecutors informed the jury that the surprise witness had been thought to have died in a tragic house fire that claimed the lives of his wife and youngest daughter over ten years ago._

Sylvester, Toby and Happy were confused with Paige's reaction to the news.

Her entire body had begun to lightly shake. "It's not possible." She spoke quietly, but the others still heard her.

"Paige, what's going on?" Sylvester asked nervously.

_We have just received breaking news, the prosecution has named the witness that testified this afternoon as Alexander Dineen._

Within seconds, the sound of Paige's coffee cup smashing against the floor caused the entire team to shift their heads towards the brunette.

**A/N: I hope you liked the chapter!**

**Thank you for Reading and Reviewing!**


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: 200+ Reviews, 100+ Favorites and 200+ Follows! All I can say is THANK YOU! You have no idea how much it means to me that you are still enjoying this story! Enjoy the chapter!**

_There had been widespread speculation that the trial of Vince Dawson_

_would end in a mis-trial due to the lack of substantial evidence. However,_

_with the surprise witness being brought to the stand, the prosecution has _

_a much better chance at getting a conviction._

Toby immediately grabbed the remote and turned off the television. He could tell that the news was making Paige upset, so he figured it would be best to shut it off so she could explain the situation without distraction.

Paige stood still... completely silent.

Her shattered coffee cup remained untouched at her feet. No one in the garage was moving and their eyes remained on her.

Walter could see that her eyes had filled with tears, but she wasn't letting them fall. At least not yet.

Happy and Toby looked at each other and then towards Sylvester, who was clearly debating saying something. Before either of them could stop him, Sylvester began speaking.

"Paige… When she said 'Alexander Dineen' did she mean someone in your family? I… uh…" Happy lightly shook her head as Toby squirmed at his upcoming ramble. "I only ask because you share a last name, and 'Dineen' isn't a very popular last name. It's ranked 10,251 in all of the USA and only has a 0.0013% frequency in California. So statistically and taking into account the way your acting in response to the news, I'm going to answer my own question and conclude that yes, you are related. …"

Sylvester smiled gleefully for a moment at his deducing skills. When he noticed the other team member's expressions, he swallowed the lump in his throat, "I am going to stop talking now."

Once again silence creeped into the garage, this time only lasting several seconds.

To everyone's surprise, Paige spoke up.

"Did you know?" Her voice was on the verge of cracking. Her eyes remained plastered on the black screen, but it was clear she was speaking to Agent Gallo.

Cabe cleared his throat and approached her. He didn't speak.

"Did you know?" Paige repeated herself, this time with more anger as a steady stream of tears travelled down her cheek.

"Yes." Cabe knew there was no point in lying.

As he approached her left side, he placed his hand on her arm.

"Don't." She said as she ripped her arm away from him.

"Paige, it was for your protection. It wasn't my place to say anything. Homeland Security had him under protection, I was following protocol."

She didn't respond, so he continued.

"I would never have done anything to hurt you Paige. I didn't even make the connection that you were _the_ Paige Dineen until I did your background check when Walter offered you a position at Scorpion. This is a complicated and dangerous situation, which is why I had to make sure that you wouldn't find out from me or Walter until it was time."

His words seemed to have woken her up because her head swiftly shot away from the screen and towards the man at the doorway.

"Walter?" Her voice was filled with disbelief as her eyes softly landed on his, "You knew?"

Walter's eyes widened and he rapidly made his way towards her. "Not exactly no. I mean I knew something was inconsistent with your story about the fire, but-"

"And you didn't say anything to me?"

Walter held his lips shut and just stared at her.

He didn't know what to say.

"Unbelievable." Paige hastily walked over to her desk and grabbed her purse.

Sylvester, Toby and Happy stood still, trying to figure out what was going on. Three geniuses have never felt so clueless.

"Paige, let me explain." Walter followed after her.

"I can't believe I trusted you Walter."

"You can trust me."

"Obviously I can't…" Tears were now racing down her face, but she made no effort to stop them, "Why would you have kept this from me, especially when you know how guilty I feel? God, I was beginning to fall in-"

Paige stopped herself before she could say anything further. She lifted her hand to her face and wiped her tears before grabbing her keys.

Before she made it out the door, Happy snatched the keys from her hand.

"You're in no condition to drive. I will take you."

Paige didn't put up a fight; she knew she wouldn't win it. The two women left the garage without so much as a good-bye.

Cabe rammed his fist against the wall. "Damn it!" He reached for his phone and roughly began dialling.

"Cabe, tell me what's going on. What does Homeland have to do with all of this?" Walter deadpanned. Before Cabe could answer, he was beginning to speak into the phone.

"Why the hell wasn't I notified about Project Flame before it hit every news station?" Cabe continued to yell into his phone as he made his way out of earshot.

Walter was still standing by Paige's desk with his eyes plastered on the door. Toby and Sylvester slowly walked over.

"So, are you going to tell us what's going on? I'm starting to think this place is 'Scorpion: The Soap Opera'."

"Not now Toby." Walter was in no mood for jokes.

"Seriously Walt, what is going on?" Toby knew that lies had the ability to tear Scorpion apart. Unfortunately it was a fact the whole team knew all too well. "If you just tell us what's going on, we may be able to offer some insight. I have been known to give some stellar advice." Toby exclaimed with pride.

Walter didn't want to talk about it, but he knew that he needed assistance in coming up with a solution... He wanted, rather needed to fix things with Paige.

Sylvester and Toby took a seat as Walter began telling them what he knew.

* * *

The car ride had been silent for nearly 10 minutes before Paige spoke up.

"Did you know too?"

"No."

Paige could tell that Happy didn't have the slightest clue as to what was going on.

"Thank you." Paige spoke quietly, but it was still loud enough for Happy to hear.

"For?"

"For not lying to me." Paige continued to look out the window.

Happy nodded her head, a minute of silence ensued.

"I don't think Walter knew. He looked pretty surprised when the reporter was talking." Happy defended the fellow genius.

"It doesn't matter how much he knew or didn't know. He kept it from me…"

She didn't continue to speak. Paige merely continued looking out the window and kept her thoughts to herself.

Happy didn't push her, she understood more than anyone the desire to keep to one's self.

"We're here."

"Where?" Paige questioned, unaware they had a specific destination.

"Ralph's school. It's 3:30, I figured you'd want to come get him." Happy explained, pretending she didn't notice the shocked expression that passed Paige's face.

Paige immediately glanced at her watch and blinked several times to refocus her eyes; she hadn't been aware it was already time to pick Ralph up.

"Oh… Thanks Happy." Paige smiled at the other woman and opened her car door to go find Ralph. She was pleased to see him at the park talking with other kids.

_He really is starting to fit in._ The thought brought a smile to the mother's face.

As soon as Paige exited the vehicle, Happy leaned over and grabbed her phone.

After two rings, Cabe answered.

"Cabe?"

Happy spoke quickly to Agent Gallo as she noticed Ralph and Paige were rapidly approaching the car.

"We're coming back to the garage now. I don't think Paige has noticed, but we're being followed."

**A/N: I'd love to know what you thought of the chapter! **

**Thank you for Reading/Reviewing!**


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: I'm still impressed by the amazing people who continue to support this story. Thank you to all of you who take the time to read it and/or leave comments! Enjoy the chapter!**

"Why didn't she tell us?" Sylvester questioned after hearing everything Walter knew.

"Yes, because we're so open with our feelings…" Toby stated sarcastically while lightly nudging Walter, "we're not exactly a peer support group. It makes sense that she wouldn't have felt comfortable digging up her past."

Sylvester nodded, he agreed with Toby's conclusion. "Walter?"

Walter was distracted; he was lost in his own thoughts.

"She can trust me." He stated without acknowledging the conversation that was taking place.

"Then you need to show her that." Toby replied, letting the fact that Walter had been ignoring them go.

"I know," Walter felt defeated, "I need to figure out what I'm going to say to her."

As the words left Walter's lips, Cabe entered.

"You're not going to have much time, they're on their way back." Cabe closed his phone and began looking out all the windows.

"Already?" Toby questioned, he was surprised that they were returning so soon. He figured Paige would need more time to cool down.

"Happy called, she said they're being followed."

Immediately, Walter refocused as his attention was pulled back to reality.

"It's safest if they just come back here."

"Who's following them?" Walter asked with no patience, even though he knew that Cabe wouldn't know.

"It's probably media." Cabe replied after surveying the surroundings.

"Probably?" Sylvester hesitated, not compelled by Cabe's lack of confidence.

* * *

As the red Chevrolet made it's way to the Scorpion garage, Paige peered towards Happy.

"What are we doing here?" She asked, not wanting to make a scene in front of Ralph.

"It's best if we stay here for a while." Happy answered. She didn't want to scare either of the Dineens.

"Why?" Paige questioned, clearly frustrated with Happy's decision to bring her back here.

"We're being followed." Ralph said matter-of-factly.

To both the women's surprise, Ralph had figured it out.

"Since we left my school, a light grey car has stayed two cars behind us, remaining at a consistence distance… no variability _at all_…" Ralph explained before whispering, "amateur."

"What?" Paige was beginning to worry. She looked behind the car, but no one was there.

"They've been trailing us for over 20 minutes." Happy responded. "They stopped once we turned in here. They're most likely waiting around the corner."

"Ralph get out of the car." Paige ordered as she and Happy also exited the vehicle.

The three quickly made their way inside and locked the door behind them.

"Walter!" Ralph ran to the genius and grabbed his hand before turning back towards Paige.

Looking at the duo, Paige could feel her heart melting. They were so innocent looking… so full hope and promise. She wanted to forget everything that was going on and just stay in this moment forever. Shaking the thought from her head, she knew that wasn't a possibility.

"Who was that?" Paige asked, expecting an answer.

"I'm not sure, reporters maybe?" Happy offered as a response.

"Paige," Cabe interjected in the conversation, "I know you don't want to talk about this right now, but there's a chance that it wasn't the media who was following you."

She didn't respond, but she did turn to face him.

Sylvester took Ralph to go play some video games, knowing that the upcoming conversation wouldn't be fit for him to overhear.

"Walter's hunch was correct, the fire wasn't caused by an electrical shortage. It was Vince Dawson."

"What?" Paige asked, even though she knew what he was insinuating.

"Your father was offered a plea deal by Homeland. If he agreed to testify against Dawson, they would give him immunity-"

"Immunity?"

"He was suspected of financial fraud and would have faced jail time. But since he was affiliated with Dawson, Homeland offered to let him off the hook if he agreed."

"What does this have to do with anything?" Paige inquired, with her arms folded across her chest. She didn't want to go down memory lane, but she needed answers.

"Your father agreed to testify. That was the day before the fire…"

A wave of silence swept over the room. Walter wanted to go to Paige and hold her hand, but he knew that would only anger her.

"We believe that the fire was set to kill your father, so he would be unable to testify against Dawson-"

After a moment of silence, Paige's eyes welled with tears. It was clear her mind was running on full speed.

"But it didn't kill him." Paige spoke with tears falling, "It killed my mother and my sister. They didn't do anything to deserve that."

Cabe didn't know what to say, none of them did.

"It was his fault." Paige looked up, but didn't make eye contact with any of the team members, "It's my dad's fault that my mom and sister are dead."

Instinctively, her watery eyes widened and her hand covered her mouth as the reality of her situation sunk in.

"After the fire, Homeland was still building a case against Dawson and they needed his help. They couldn't risk another attempt on his life so they put him in protection. Apparently, the case was strong enough to come forward, but they neglected to let me know… This is not how I wanted you to find out."

It was evident that Cabe was genuinely apologetic for how the situation was unravelling.

Paige held her eyes closed for a moment before opening them and facing reality once more.

"I can't deal with this right now."

"You can't go home." Happy spoke softly, "It's safest to stay here."

Paige nodded, she agreed. If Dawson's _associates_ were really following her, she couldn't risk going home… at least not yet.

"You can use my room, if you want." Walter offered.

Without speaking to him, Paige glanced at Walter then proceeded upstairs to get some space.

* * *

It had been several hours since Paige retreated upstairs and Walter was sitting on the couch with his eyes plastered on the stairwell.

He had gone without movement for so long that the team was beginning to worry how deep into his mind he had ventured.

In the kitchen, the rest of the team was making dinner. Ralph was sitting at the table doing next week's homework assignments, but he was aware of the tension in the garage. Toby had filled Happy in on what Walter had told him, and Cabe was in an overall frustrated mood.

The tapping of Walter's pen against the coffee table came to an end. With eyes locked on the stairwell, he rapidly stood up and sprinted up the stairs.

"It's about time." Toby whispered to Happy, who cracked a small smile.

* * *

Walter knocked on his bedroom door four times before it opened. When Paige did open the door, she looked angry.

Walter's breathing was heavy, considering he just sprinted up the stairs and not to mention, his heart has been racing for the past two hours. He was evidently stressed out about the situation.

She waited for him to speak.

Walter couldn't remember what he was going to say.

"I'm really tired Walter…"

"You can trust me." He spat out without thinking. "You can Paige."

She didn't respond, as she was about to turn around Walter softly grabbed her hand. Paige froze. She couldn't bring herself to break their contact.

Their closeness ignited Walter's memory as he suddenly remembered what he was going to say to her.

"I didn't know anything other than what you told me." He told her honestly, "And even if I did, I might not have told you."

Paige turned to look at him with confusion on her face.

"That's my point Walter. You don't seem to have a problem keeping things from me. I can't have any more of that in my life."

"Well I can't have you, or Ralph, in danger." Walter was pleading with Paige for her to understand. "Don't you get that Paige? There is nothing I wouldn't do to keep the both of you safe."

Paige closed her eyes, she knew that Cabe and Walter were only trying to protect her and her son, yet she still felt an undeniable anger.

"I know that Walter."

"I don't think you do." Walter leaned in closer, and Paige opened to her eyes to look into his, "I want… I _need_ you to be safe, because I don't know what I would," Walter cleared his throat, "I don't know what I would if anything happened to you."

Though Paige looked physically comforted by his words, she was still emotionally furious… she just didn't know why.

"I'm just so mad." She couldn't think of anything else to say.

Walter furrowed his eyebrows and tried to figure out what he had said to make her so angry.

"Are you upset with me?" Walter asked before realizing that Paige's anger wasn't directed at him, "Or is this about your dad?"

Not another word was exchanged and before Walter knew what was happening, Paige was in his arms.

She had her head resting on his shoulder as she let out several sobs she had been holding in.

Walter felt a sensation of joy knowing that she turned to him to be comforted. He recalled Toby teaching him some comforting techniques so he began lightly rubbing shapes on her back. His favorite was the heptagon; it is a polygon with seven sides, one for each member of Scorpion. _Himself, Toby, Sylvester, Happy, Cabe, Paige and Ralph._

"Why?" Paige began asking before consuming a large intake of air. "Why would he have let me think he was dead for years? Why would he have chosen to leave me thinking he was gone… they were all gone."

Paige continued to cry on his shoulder and Walter held her tightly.

"I'm not going anywhere." He said softly.

**A/N: Did you like the chapter? Unfortunately, I'll be without Internet access next week so the next chapter may have to wait until the week after. But I promise that if possible, I will get it posted next week.**

**Let me know what you thought of the chapter!**

**Thank you for Reading and Reviewing!**


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: I am SO sorry for the late update! I hope this chapter makes up for it!**

It had been a week since Paige and Happy had been followed. Cabe had sent out a warning to all news agencies that they are not to approach the Dineens; if they did, they'd have to face charges from Homeland. Cabe was doing it solely to protect Paige and Ralph. However, Homeland was on board because they wanted to keep them out of the spotlight. The last thing they needed was Dawson getting his hands on the last thing that could persuade Alexander Dineen to not testify.

"Walter, really it's fine." Paige put her heavy bag next to the door and sat down beside Walter on the couch. "It's been a week, we need to go home now."

Walter rubbed his sore neck. He had briefly forgotten the painful sensation from sleeping on the couch. "I insist you stay."

"No," She stated plainly, "Ralph and I are heading home today, you need proper sleep too."

"I'll come stay at your place then." Walter stated

"Why, so you can sleep on a different couch?" She placed her hand on top of Walters before continuing, "We'll be fine."

As Paige got up, Cabe entered.

"Where are you going?" He asked after noticing her stuff was packed up.

"Home." Paige answered with a smile.

Cabe was grateful that Paige had begun to understand why he withheld the information about her father.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." Paige answered truthfully.

The media had left them alone, and she desperately wanted to let Walter have his room back.

"Can I talk to you for a minute before you go?" Cabe asked.

Paige and Cabe were walking into the kitchen when he began speaking.

"I know you already said no but-"

"No."

"Paige, just hear me out."

"I know what you're going to ask and my answer is no."

"He really wants to-"

"I don't care." Paige cut him off once more, "After everything he's done, there's no way I'm going to see him. Tell him to forget it."

After a minute and a half of silence, Paige spoke again with a smile on her face. She really tried to hide it, but it was clear to Cabe that it was forced.

"I'm fine not seeing him. We're all good!"

As she nodded her head several times, she patted him on the shoulder and headed back towards the main living area. As she lifted up her bag, she heard Sylvester speaking.

"You're leaving already?" He asked in a sad tone.

Sylvester had really enjoyed spending the nights playing video games with Ralph, Happy, Toby and Walter. They all thoroughly enjoyed the look on Paige's face when she'd come down the stairs at two in the morning.

_You're still up? Go to sleep! Promise me you'll get Ralph to bed at a reasonable time tomorrow. _

Sylvester grinned at the memories.

"Yes, it's time Ralph has his bedtime reinstated."

"Mom." He heard Ralph moaning as he strolled in with Happy and Toby.

"Yeah, no fun." Toby joked as he tipped his hat towards the woman.

"Don't encourage him." Paige replied with a genuine smile. "Okay, time to go home."

As Ralph said goodbye to the other team members, Cabe approached Paige.

"Let me know if you change your mind."

"Okay." Paige replied even though she was certain she was not going to see her father.

"See you in a bit buddy." Walter gave Ralph a hug before the boy ran to be by his mother's side.

As soon as the door shut, the garage seemed empty and quiet.

Happy, Toby and Sylvester retreated and began working on their own projects and Walter approached Cabe.

"Is she going to see him?" Walter asked.

Paige had told Walter about her father wanting to talk to her, but she had clearly and rapidly declined.

"No, not yet."

"Do you think she will?"

"I'm not sure, but I hope she considers it."

Having lost a child as well, Cabe could relate to the feeling that Paige's father must have. Alexander lost his wife and child in a fire that was meant for him, and now he had the opportunity to reconnect with his daughter. Cabe also understood why Paige was resisting seeing her father, but he hoped she would reconsider.

* * *

Paige had spent the entire drive home watching the cars around her vehicle. She wanted to make sure that they weren't being followed. Happy had told her the signs to look for so she felt more prepared.

Luckily, there was no one following them.

As she and Ralph arrived home, she made sure that all of the doors and windows were locked.

As Ralph ran to the T.V. to presumably practice the video game Walter had given him, Paige stood by the window. She watched as the cop car that had been assigned to watch the house, pulled up across the street. Officer Welsh waved at her from his driver's side window and Paige returned the gesture.

Paige was glad that Cabe and Homeland had insisted on someone watching the house.

Interrupting her thoughts, the house phone began to ring. Not realizing, Paige picked it up without question.

"Hello."

"Oh, Hello Ms. Dineen," The woman on the other end of the line sounded surprised that the phone had been answered. "I was just calling to ask you some questions regarding the trial of Vince Daw-"

Before the girl could finish, Paige abruptly hung up the phone. Without a second passing, it began ringing again.

"Hello." Paige answered, thinking it could be Walter or someone from Scorpion.

"Hi, Paige Dineen? " This time, it was an older man on the other end, "Do you have any comment on your father's sudden reappearance at the trial of-"

Again, Paige hung up the phone. After around 10 seconds, the phone rang again. Out of frustration, Paige unplugged the phone from the wall; she could not handle the calls all night long.

She pulled her phone out of her bag and noticed she only had 10% battery left. She rummaged through her bag to find her charger, but she was unable to locate it.

_I must have left it at the garage._ She thought to herself.

Looking at the time, she decided it was too late to go back and get it. She'd grab it tomorrow.

"Ralph it's time for bed."

He didn't complain or moan, he had been up past midnight every night for the past week and he would never admit it, but he was actually tired and looking forward to a full night's rest.

Paige double-checked to make sure all of the windows and doors were locked before tucking Ralph in and heading to her room.

* * *

"Mom! Mom!" Paige was woken from her sleep by quiet yells and the shaking of her shoulders. "Mom!"

Ralph's voice was a mere whisper, but Paige could tell he was terrified.

"Ralph?" She questioned, as fear began to consume her as well. "What's wrong?"

"Who is that man?"

His words caused a shiver to travel up her spine.

"What man?" she asked with adrenaline rushing through her veins as she jumped out of bed.

"The man in the kitchen." Ralph replied, clearly shaken up.

"What are you talking about?" She questioned as she placed her hands on his shoulders.

"I went to the kitchen to get a glass of water. He was just standing there staring at me."

With those words, Paige grabbed her cell phone from her bed side table.

As she began dialling, the screen turned black.

"Dammit!" She cursed in her quiet voice.

Her phone died.

"Okay Ralph you stay here."

"But mom, what if he's still there?"

"It's okay Ralph, just stay here. If I'm not back in a couple minutes, I'm going to need you to hide. Okay?"

Ralph just looked up at her with wide eyes as his heart rate continued to increase.

"Okay?" She asked again, even though it was more of an order than a question.

"Okay." He replied as Paige slowly made her way into the hallway.

She moved softly, not wanting to make a sound. As she reached the kitchen, she didn't see anyone. She reached for the landline, but there was no dial tone. She recalled unplugging it last night.

_Crap!_

As she tried to find the cord to plug in, she heard a voice coming from behind her. The sound made her jump.

"Mom?"

Paige turned and was relieved to find Ralph at her side. When she realized what was going on, she allowed herself to calm down; Ralph was just having a nightmare.

"There's no one in the kitchen honey, you must have been having a bad dream."

"No." Ralph spoke quietly. "It wasn't a dream."

Paige knelt down in front of her son. She understood that all the stress was getting to him. She had hoped that Walter hadn't allowed him to watch the news; it could be giving him nightmares.

"Ralph, honey, sometimes dreams seem so real but-"

"No mom, he was standing right in the doorway."

Instinctively, Paige swung her head towards the front door and noticed it was unlocked.

_I swear I remember locking that door._

"He told me to tell you that he was a friend of Mr. Dawson."

Paige's heart started to beat out of control as she shot her head back towards her son.

"He talked to you?" She asked with worry consuming her every word.

"He told me that he would be seeing us again soon. Mom, who was he?"

Paige had no idea what to say. She was scared to death.

Without a word, she took Ralph's hand and grabbed her keys off the counter.

They immediately ran towards the Police car, but when they got to the window, there was no one inside. Officer Welsh was gone.

They found themselves standing alone in the middle of the night. There was only one place to go.

She immediately led her son towards their red Chevrolet. Once they got in the car, Paige locked the car doors and headed to the one place she felt safe… the garage.

**A/N: What did you think? If there's enough demand, I will try to get another chapter out by Saturday or Sunday. I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N: I am so amazed by the reviews from the last chapter! Thank you! **

Walter turned in his sleep. Oddly enough, he found it strange to be back in his own bed. No matter how uncomfortable the couch was, he would prefer to sleep there if it meant that Ralph and Paige were right upstairs.

Feeling slightly quenched, Water decided to get up and go to the kitchen for a glass of water.

It was dark, but Walter knew the garage inside and out; everything was always in its place.

He recalled how for the past week he and Ralph had both gotten up at around the same time to rehydrate. He smiled as he remembered the peaceful silence that consumed them as they sat side by side gulping the cool water.

_I wonder if Ralph is up getting a drink of water now too?_

His thoughts were interrupted when he felt a shooting pain coming from the bottom of his foot. When he looked down, he saw Paige's phone charger lying on the floor.

_She must have left it here._

He picked it up and set it on the table, making a mental note to give it to her in the morning.

Before he had a chance to finish his water, Walter was startled by the sound of loud, continuous banging coming from the main door. He stood still, trying to find a valid scenario for why someone would be at the garage so early in the morning.

"Walter! Walter!" The sound of Paige's terrified voice accompanied with the banging had Walter on his feet within a second.

He ran to the door and swung it open to find the mother and son helplessly banging on the door.

Ralph, who was wearing the Super Fan Man pajamas that Sylvester had gotten him, looked up at Walter with wide eyes. His hand was encased in his mother's. When Walter's eyes reached Paige, he momentarily got distracted as he noticed the shorts and tank top that she was wearing.

_She must be cold._

The thought crossed his mind in under a second, as the severity of their situation set in.

"What happened?" He asked immediately, "Are you alright?" The first question would allow him to properly assess the situation. The second question… well, he didn't have a scientific or rational reason for asking it, he just desperately needed to know.

Before either of them had a chance to answer, Paige gently pulled Ralph through the door and closed it behind her. She locked it and let out a light sigh of relief.

"What happened?" Walter asked again as Ralph rapidly approached him and grabbed his hand.

Paige didn't respond, but Walter knew it was bad because Ralph was squeezing his hand fairly tight for a boy his age.

"I-" Paige spoke quickly, "I'm going to go lock all the doors and windows."

Walter didn't have a chance to offer his help before she was out of sight. He wanted to follow her and find out what happened, but the way that Ralph was gripping his hand, he knew he had to stay with the young boy.

"Ralph, buddy." Walter knelt down to be at his height, "Are you alright?"

"There was a man in the kitchen."

Walter's heart sunk at his words and his face stiffened.

"Mom said she locked all the doors and windows, but he still got inside."

Walter didn't say anything… If he was being honest, he didn't know what to say.

"It just felt like…" He stopped mid-sentence.

"Ralph, I'm right here. It's okay. You can tell me."

"It just felt like he was waiting for us to find him there."

Ralph's face was steady, but his eyes showcased the fear that consumed him. He leaned in for a hug but this time, Walter held _him_ tightly. He tried to stop them, but the scenarios of what could have happened continued to run through his mind and all he could do was be grateful that they were both safe.

Paige returned and made her way over to the duo.

"I l-locked all the doors and windows."

"Okay." Walter said softly.

Paige ran her hands through her hair, and Walter could see the way they were shaking. When she returned her hands to her side, Walter instinctively reached out and held her hand in his.

She visibly relaxed at the contact; her eyelids closed and she let out a breath of air.

The garage went silent.

Walter wanted to ask more questions, but he had learned it was better to wait.

As Paige opened her eyes, they settled on Walter. She had been too distracted to notice that he was shirtless; her eyes lingered a little longer than usual.

The silence broke with the sound of Ralph letting out a large yawn. Paige relocated her eyes to focus on Ralph.

"I'll take him up." Walter stated.

"I'll come too." Paige added, not wanting to be alone.

* * *

Ralph got into Walter's bed and looked up at the ceiling.

Walter's face settled on Paige; he needed to know what was going on. It was as if she could read his mind because she immediately leaned in and whispered.

"Vince Dawson sent someone to our house." The quiver in her voice didn't go unnoticed, "Walter, he talked to Ralph… He could have taken-" Paige stopped and held her eyes closed. "I don't know what to do."

Before Walter had a chance to respond, Ralph spoke up.

"Mom?"

"Yes sweety." Paige answered, hiding the fear that had momentarily filled her voice and mind.

"Shouldn't you get to sleep now too?"

Paige smiled. She knew that Ralph didn't want to be alone, and more so, she didn't want to leave him alone.

"Yes, I think you're right." As she began walking towards the bed, she heard Walter speaking behind her.

"You two get some sleep, I'll be downstairs if you need me."

Paige immediately turned to face him.

"No."

The word slipped out before she could stop it. Walter looked at her, with confusion on his features.

"You shouldn't have to sleep on the couch. This is your home."

Walter wasn't like Paige; he wasn't good at reading between the lines. Evidently, he didn't get the hint that Paige was asking him to stay.

"It's fine. I don't mind." As Walter turned around, he felt Paige's hand grab his.

"I'm sorry," She spoke quietly, "Um, I just don't want to-"

She swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Could you stay up here? If you don't mind."

"Oh… Sure."

Paige gave him a relieved smile as he returned the gesture.

She went to the bed and slept on the left side of Ralph. Following her lead, Walter also went to the bed, but he laid down on Ralph's right side.

Paige noticed the small smile that appeared on Ralph's face as he felt the presence of both his mom and Walter; he felt safe.

As Ralph dozed off, Paige kept her eyes closed even though she was unable to sleep.

What she would never see was that Walter's protective eyes were plastered on her.

* * *

Paige's heart was still racing; the silence caused her mind to replay the events, which only left her with more questions and worry. She placed her hand on her son's shoulder and nearly pulled away when she felt someone else's hand there as well. When she realized it was Walter's, she just left her hand where it was.

She opened her eyes and was surrounded by darkness.

"Walter?" She whispered, even though she was expecting him to be asleep.

"Yes?" He whispered back, not wanting to wake up Ralph who was sound asleep between the pair.

"Can we stay here for a while?" She asked.

A moment of silence consumed the room before Walter began speaking.

"Paige, you don't have to ask. The concept of asking a question is based on the idea that one doesn't know what the answer will be. That is not the case here."

She smiled, knowing that was Walter-talk for yes.

"Thank you."

"Your welcome."

Another minute of silence ensued.

"Walter?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm afraid." Paige said without expectation of a response. She didn't need him to reply; she just needed to say the words.

She closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep but before she did, she felt Walter's hand move from underneath hers. He turned it so his palm would be facing upwards and he softly held her hand, rubbing circles on her skin.

Paige grinned as she realized that even though Walter couldn't always express himself in words, his actions spoke louder.

**A/N: I'd love to know what you thought of the chapter! I will try to get the next one out soon! **

**Thank you again to everyone who continues to enjoy this story!**


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N: I am so thrilled with the reviews I have been receiving! To answer the question asked by Guest 123, to be honest I take it a couple chapters at a time so the end won't be for a while! I hope you all enjoy where it goes!**

"Walter." He heard his name being called in a soft, low voice. "Walter."

Cracking his eyes open, he saw Ralph staring back at him with a huge smile.

"Morning bud." He whispered back, wanting to let Paige sleep.

"I'm thirsty." The boy stated, "Can you come down with me?"

"Absolutely." As Walter slowly got off the bed, he noticed it was only four in the morning.

Ralph jumped off the bed and followed Walter down the stairs. When they were finished, they made their way back upstairs to get as much sleep as they could before the others arrived at the garage.

When they got back to Walter's room, they noticed that Paige had rolled in her sleep and was now in the middle of the bed.

Walter looked down at the young boy who lightly giggled at the situation.

Ralph jumped onto the right side of Paige and laid his head down on the pillow.

Walter stood without movement for several minutes as he debated what to do.

After much deliberation, he decided that he would only be efficient in the morning if he got more sleep. With that, he moved towards the left side of the bed and slowly got in.

Paige hadn't left much room on that side of the bed for him so Walter readjusted himself several times before getting comfortable.

He kept a good inch between them as he tried to fall asleep. However, that proved to be a difficult task as the lavender scent from Paige's shampoo distracted him.

* * *

"Hello?" Toby's voice calling from downstairs woke up Ralph. "Anyone home?"

Ralph jumped out of bed and hastily made his way down the stairs to greet the group.

"Super Fun Guy!" Sylvester said with cheer as he noticed that Ralph was wearing the pajamas he had gotten him.

"Ralph?" Happy asked confused, "What are you doing here?"

"We came over last night." He said, not wanting to bring up the specifics of last night's events.

"_We_?" Toby asked as the side of his mouth lifted into a smile.

Ralph nodded his head towards Toby.

"Upstairs?" He asked after noticing the couch hadn't been slept on.

The boy nodded his head again.

Without a second's hesitation, Toby quickly made his way up the stairs as a grin grew on his face.

When he got to Walter's room, he wasn't sure if he should laugh, smile, or take a picture.

The sun had just come up and the room was full of natural light. Paige was asleep with her hair a wavy mess around her head. Walter was asleep next to her, with his arm wrapped around her. Their fingers were ever so slightly intertwined.

Toby slowly backed up from the door and gently closed it behind him. He made his way down the stairs to join the rest of the team.

_Finally._

He thought to himself as he smiled gleefully at Happy.

* * *

Paige slowly opened her eyes and let a tiny bit of light in with each blink.

_It must be morning._

As the memories of the night before slowly made their way back into her mind, she took notice of her surroundings. She immediately noticed the warmth that was encasing her fingers and her arm. Turning her head, she saw Walter's arm wrapped around her. Paige blushed at the sight, and at the pleasant sensation his touch gave her.

She slowly took her hand out from underneath his and shifted under his arm.

Now, she was looking in his direction; their faces were a mere inch or two apart. Paige had intended to get out of bed but she couldn't bring herself to move.

"Good morning." Walter whispered.

He knew that she was there with him, but he didn't know of her proximity or the way his arm had surrounded her all night.

"Morning." She replied.

As Walter opened his eyes, Paige noticed the shade of his face becoming slightly red.

She giggled at the way his face momentarily froze.

_God, I love the way she laughs._

Walter smiled.

After a couple minutes, Walter broke the silence.

"Are you okay?"

"Not really." She answered honestly, "I'm worried about Ralph."

As if a firework had gone off in her mind, she flipped to face the other side of the bed. Her heart nearly skipped a beat when she realized that Ralph wasn't there.

"Ralph!" She called as she broke their contact, "Ralph!"

Walter followed her lead and immediately jumped out of bed.

The pair made their way down the stairs and visibly relaxed when they saw the boy sitting with the other members of Scorpion.

Paige clutched her chest and knelt over in an attempt to catch her breath.

Walter let out a near silent breath of air in relief.

"So, you two look like you had a good night." Toby teased as he stared at the pair; both of whom were wearing less clothing than normal.

Water and Paige made eye contact before turning to face Toby.

"Not exactly." Paige said.

Before Paige could say anything further, the front door swung open. Cabe looked as though he was on a mission.

"Paige! There you are… I just heard."

The severity in his voice informed the other team members that the impromptu sleepover had not occurred under pleasant circumstances.

"What happened?" He asked in a harsh tone, "When Officer Welsh didn't radio in, Homeland agents were sent in and they reported that no one was home."

"Um guys…" Sylvester said while staring at the notifications on his computer, "We better turn on the news."

Happy grabbed the remote and turned on the television.

_It was reported this morning that an LAPD officer went missing _

_while monitoring the house belonging to Paige Dineen. Reports _

_say that this is in fact the daughter of the surprise witness in the_

_ trial of Vince Dawson. The LAPD have made no official statement _

_as of yet._

"This isn't your fault." Walter spoke into Paige's ear.

She nodded, even though she didn't really believe him.

"What happened last night?" Cabe questioned again.

"A man, I think Dawson sent him, came into the house. He talked to Ralph." A shiver travelled up her spine as the words passed her lips, "When we ran outside, Officer Welsh was gone."

"Ralph," Cabe knelt down, "Do you think you would recognize the man if you saw him again?"

"I don't know." He answered shyly as he made eye contact with his mother, "It was really dark."

"Okay," He replied, "you two are going to need somewhere else to stay, there are probably reporters surrounding your house right now."

"They're going to stay here." Walter answered.

"I don't have any stuff here." Ralph stated as he looked up at his mom, "Can we go back to get my videogames?"

Paige looked over at Walter, then Cabe, "I could use some clothes."

"Okay, you three stay here. Sylvester, Happy, Toby and I will head back to your place and grab your things."

"Thank you." Paige replied before making her way over to her son, "Come on honey, let's go get cleaned up."

As Paige led Ralph upstairs, Walter approached Cabe. His face was stiff; Cabe knew exactly what was running through the geniuses' mind.

"We're going to find this guy." Cabe tried to reassure him.

"When we do find him, let me deal with him." Walter's voice was stern and full of determination.

"That's not protocol-"

"I don't care if it's not protocol. That man broke into Paige's home… He could have done anything to her or Ralph." He took a deep breath, "When we catch him, I am going to deal with him."

"Okay." Cabe replied.

With that, Walter nodded his head and visibly relaxed. He fixed his posture and headed upstairs.

**A/N: I'd love to know everyone's thoughts and predictions about the next chapters!**

**Thank you for Reading and Reviewing!**


	32. Chapter 32

**There are no words to describe how sorry I am that I haven't updated in a LONG time. I have been extraordinarily busy and I am just getting a bit of free time back. Thank you all for the continued support and I hope you enjoy where the story goes. **

**Please note there is minor violence in this chapter, nothing graphic.**

"We're back!" Sylvester's voice echoed through the garage. The familiar voice had Ralph racing down the stairs.

Paige and Walter followed shortly after.

Toby handed Ralph a bag with all his videogames, which resulted in a thrilled reaction from the boy.

"And for you." Happy handed Paige a bag with clothes and personal supplies.

"Thank you." She replied gratefully. When she saw her phone in the bag, she recalled that she had misplaced her charger. "Oh, Walter, have you seen my phone-"

"Charger?" He replied before she had a chance to finish her question, "Yes, right here."

He handed her the charger off the counter and she plugged it into the wall.

Their eyes lingered, not going unnoticed by Toby.

Cabe entered and ended his call, "Homeland can't pin the break and enter on Dawson because there's no substantial evidence linking him to the scene."

Paige crossed her arms around her chest and Walter moved closer to her.

"To make things more complicated, there's no evidence of a break and enter. There are no signs of forced entry."

"What does that mean?" Paige questioned, simply wanting the man responsible to be caught and put away.

"It seems he had a key. The forensics team is sweeping for prints so lets hope they find something."

"They won't." Ralph stated matter-of-factly.

When he received confused looks from the team, he explained.

"The man was wearing gloves. There won't be any fingerprints."

Paige looked disappointed and frightened; that man had a key, how did he get a key?

"Ralph?" Cabe questioned, "How much do you remember from that night? This is the first time you've mentioned gloves."

Ralph thought to himself for a second.

"More. I remember more now."

Paige knelt down and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Why does he need to remember more? It would be better if he could just forget it all."

As the words left her lips, the team knew that she was wished they both could forget it all.

"We can get a sketch artist to come in and then run the image to find a match." Toby chimed in.

Paige stood up and ran her hands through her hair. Immediately, she turned her head towards Cabe.

"I'm going to see my dad."

Cabe was shocked, "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad. But why the sudden change of heart?"

"If anyone knows how to stop them from coming after us, it's him."

Walter pulled her aside, clearly concerned.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

Paige kept her thoughts to herself. She wasn't really sure.

"Paige?"

"Can you watch Ralph?"

Walter looked into her eyes, trying to figure out what was going through her mind.

"Yes, of course."

"I just don't want to introduce him to Ralph until I can talk to him first."

"You don't need to defend yourself. It's your choice."

He smiled at her as she visibly relaxed.

"Thank you."

"We're coming with you." Toby and Happy said after looking to each other first.

"No," Paige said politely, "I need to do this by myself."

The team looked at her full of concern.

"He's in a building full of law enforcement officials… nothing's going to happen. Cabe can you arrange it?"

"For when?" He asked as he pulled out his phone.

"Now."

* * *

Paige walked through the hallway. Her eyes were fixated on the white walls and the lack of windows. Occasionally, there was a picture in a frame. She tried to focus on the beauty of the art, but the only image playing through her mind was the night her family died… the night she _thought_ her dad had died.

"Ms. Dineen, he's right behind this door here." The officer pointed to a metal door a couple steps away from her."

"Is this where he has been staying?" She needed to understand where he has been for the last decade.

"No. He's been staying in safe houses all over the country. This is just an interrogation room."

She didn't reply.

After waiting several moments, she placed her hand on the door handle. Her eyelids clenched as she opened the door.

* * *

"Is that all you can remember?"

"Yeah." Ralph replied.

"Okay… here we go." The sketch artist turned her drawing around, does this look familiar?

Ralph gulped as memories of that night filled his mind, "yes."

The artist handed Cabe the drawing as Happy showed her out.

"We'll scan it, and run it through facial recognition." Walter narrated as Cabe walked over to the scanner.

"You okay buddy?" Toby asked as he sat down next to the boy.

Ralph shrugged his shoulders, "When's my mom coming back."

"I'm not sure. Hopefully pretty soon."

"We've got a match"

"That quickly?" Ralph asked.

"I reconfigured the program to find key facial features at a speed 90x faster than traditional facial recognition software."

"Cool." Ralph replied, mentally trying to find a way to make it 100x faster.

"Wait. Is that?"

"I thought he-"

Walter slammed his fist against the wall before grabbing his keys and racing towards the door.

"Walter wait!" Toby yelled as he followed.

"Sylvester, Happy, you two stay here with Ralph." Cabe ordered as he quickly followed them out the door.

* * *

Paige had been staring at her father for nearly five minutes, and not a single word was exchanged.

"I'm sorry." He spoke quietly.

She didn't reply. She wanted to speak; she had a lot to ask, but her mind came up empty.

"I just need you to know that I love you."

"Love me?" All of a sudden, her mind was going so fast her mouth could barely keep up, "If that was true you wouldn't have let me think that you were dead for nearly a decade!"

"I'm sorry… It killed me everyday to know that you were suffering. I know there is no excuse, but I was doing what I had to do to protect you.

She could feel tears flowing down her cheeks.

"I nearly died when I heard your mother and sister had…" He couldn't place a word to the tragedy… "been killed."

Paige swallowed the lump in her throat as she looked up to the ceiling, hoping it would prevent more tears from spilling.

It didn't work.

"I need to know who is doing all of this."

He didn't respond.

"They came after me and my son! Tell me how to stop this!"

"They came after you and Ralph?" Her dad looked genuinely upset and afraid, "I knew I should never have agreed to testify."

"How did you know Ralph's name? I never told you that."

Before her concern had a chance to grow, he pulled out a white envelope. Her father emptied it and hundreds of photos fell onto the table.

There were photos of her at work, the park, the shopping mall, and ones with Ralph as a baby, a toddler, and a child.

"How-" She asked.

"I had someone keep me updated. I had to make sure that you were happy; I had to make sure that you were okay... I love you sweetie."

Before she could respond, an officer entered the room.

"Can we have more time please?" Paige's dad asked.

The officer didn't respond.

Concerned, Paige turned around. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the officer standing behind her.

"Officer Welsh?" She questioned as she recalled the officer that had been placed outside her house and had since been declared missing.

"How is Ralph? I told him I would be seeing you guys again soon." He said as he pulled out his gun.

"Paige!" Her dad called from behind her, "get down!"

Before either of the Dineens knew what was going on, the sound of a gunshot consumed the room.

* * *

When Walter, Toby and Cabe arrived, there were ambulances and a strangely large number of police cars surrounding the front doors.

As they exited the vehicle they overheard a federal agent on the phone, "A gunshot has been fired in the interview room-"

Walter's heart sunk as he raced inside. Cabe showed his badge so they would all be let through. The worry and panic pulsating through Walter's veins had him running much faster than the others. When he got to the door where was Paige was, he had to push through a plethora of officers.

He saw Paige clenched over on the floor. He could only see her back. As he entered, everything appeared in slow motion. He made his way towards Paige and took note of the officer that was being handcuffed by other law enforcement officials.

"Paige…" He placed his hand on her shoulder and as she turned, he saw tears flowing down her cheeks… She was standing over her father, who had been shot.

She turned back around to her father.

"Dad! Dad!" she choked on her words as her head fell onto his chest, "I love you too."

When she realized he was gone, she fell into Walter's arms, which were already surrounding her.

Toby pushed through the officers and knelt down on the other side of Paige.

"Get her out of here." Walter demanded as he stood up. He didn't want to break their contact, but there was something he had to do.

He approached the handcuffed officer and began punching him. His force was so strong that the other officers, despite their efforts, couldn't pull Walter off of him. The sounds of people ordering him to stop were mere fuzz in his ears… he promised he would deal with the man who did this.

Suddenly, as if he was hearing for the first time, a soft voice broke him from the violence.

"Walter, please stop." Her words were barely audible to everyone except Walter.

He turned to face her.

"Please. We can't lose you, don't kill him."

As much as he wanted to make officer Welsh suffer, he wanted to be with Paige and Ralph more.

Walter stood up and held a shaking and teary-eyed Paige in his arms.

"Lets get out of here."


End file.
